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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 








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THE 


TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE 

AND 


STATE ADMINISTRATION OF TEXAS 


1901 




ty BY 

M’ARTHUR & WICKES 



AUSTIN 

BEN C. TONES & CO. , PRINTERS 

1901 














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THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 
Two Cot-tud RecEivtD 

OCT. 11 1901 

Copyright entry 

CLASS l2/XXo. No. 

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COPY a. 




COPYRIGHT, 1901 

BY 

McARTHUK A - WI 6 - KI 3 Q ’ 



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PEEFACE. 


However important or humble may be his station, no man who 
serves the public in an official capacity has the right to withhold 
from that public any fact which would give familiar acquaintance 
with his personal character and individual history. However com¬ 
mendable the modesty of him who would delicately refrain from 
parading himself conspicuously in print or otherwise, there is a 
demand based upon public right and growing out of personal duty 
that should outweigh such delicacy with all who leave the retire¬ 
ment of private citizenship to enter the field of public life. Ob¬ 
scurity, as it stands as a shrine, holding the sanctity and sacred 
belongings of the inner home life, should ever be preserved from 
rude invasion, for this is no part of the individual identity to be 
brought forth when Ihc p ublie demands to know of -its serv^its 
who and what they may be. The worth of every official is public 
property and should be known and nurtured; the lack of worth in 
any public servant is a negative crime, not to be concealed in the 
robings of obscurity, but to be placed under that light wffiich will 
bring the offender to suffer the just penalty of early retirement. 
In whatever character to be taken, whether the official stands as 
the direct choice of a constituency conceding him to be the right 
man in the right place, or is an accepted or permitted factional 
compromise,—that unforeseen creature of inharmonious circum¬ 
stances known as a political accident,—whether he is born to his 
position, acquires it, or has it thrust upon him,—in all instances 
alike it becomes a question of public good, and not one of per¬ 
sonal choice, when he comes to consider the propriety of presenting 
himself unreservedly to open view for public inspection. Again, 
when officials are acting together lu common for the public good, 
especially in a legislative capacity, one of the leading facilities 
tending to the consummation of that purpose is that they should 
know each other. 

In accordance with this belief, and with a hope that the work 
as a business undertaking would not prove wholly unremunerative, 
we, the publishers, have prepared and presented this volume. The 
biographical sketches it carries have been written hurriedly, yet 
with a cautionary care not to go beyond the lines of authentic 



11 


PREFACE. 


information. In keeping with our purpose we endeavored to in¬ 
clude every legislator and other State official, but many have been 
approached inopportunely; that is, wdien by being presently en¬ 
gaged data could not be obtained. Notwithstanding this difficulty, 
no member of the Twenty-seventh Legislature has been omitted. 
We have found material encouragement beyond our original ex¬ 
pectations, and throughout our work we have been the recipients 
of a uniform courtesy most pleasing here to acknowledge. In the 
division of our labor, the one having the office or editing depart¬ 
ment and the other attending to the general business and field 
work, each has advised with and has received valuable assistance 
from the other. In preparing sketches studious care has been 
taken to avoid fulsome praise, and we here announce with pleasure 
that out of all interviewed not a single suggestion has been made 
opening the way to flattering speech, and therefore we have not 
been called herein to address ourselves to the vanity of any man. 
The publication is sent out with the hope that it will plea.se all and 
be of worti to many. 

N. J. ]\IcArthur, Editor. 

H. G. WicKES, Associate. 





STATE OFFICERS. 

Bell, C. K. 24 

Blunt, W. F. 39 

Bowman, C. 11. 30 

Brown, T. J. 7 

Browning, James N. 2 

Carleton, B. H., Dr. 46 

Cravens, FT. A. 38 

Duggan, Malone, Dr.•. 48 

Foster, L. L. 31 

Gaines, R. R. 5 

Garrett, C. C. 9 

Gill, W. H. 10 

Hankins, M. M. 52 

Harlan, Samuel L. 36 

Hughes, Em. S. 36 

Jameson, Joe Lee. 34 

Johnson, Jefferson . 28 

VJones, I. J., Dr. 41 

Kibbe, I. P. 32 

Kleberg,, R. J. 50 

Lefevre, xirthur . 26 

Love, R. M. 21 

McFarland, T. J., Dr.;. 42 

Moore, W. J. 51 

Pleasants, R. A. . . . .. 12 

Pugh, W. E., Dr. 44 

Reagan, John H. 16 

Robbins, John W. 20 

Rogan, Charles . 22 

Sayers, Joseph D. 1 

Scurry, T. S. 24 

Slayden, James L. 4 

Stephens, I. W. 14 

Storey, L. J. 17 

Tackaberry, A. L., Dr. 45 

Tod, John G. 27 

Turner, John S. 29 

Williams, F. A. 8 

White, James P. 13 

Wolff, A. S., Dr. 47 










































11 


INDEX. 


SENATE. 

Beaty, J. T. 55 

Davidson, A. B., of DeWitt. 81 

Davidson, K. V., of Galveston. 56 

Dibrell, J. B. 77 

Goss, D. F. 81 

Grinnan, Arch . 80 

Hanger, W. A. 80 

Harris, Theo., of Bexar. 81 

Harris, E. W., of Hunt. 65 

James, C. 0. 66 

Johnson, B. H. 67 

Lipscomb, A. G. 59 

Lloyd, L. 79 

McGee, M. P. 79 

Miller, Barry . 55 

Neal, George D. 69 

Odell, D. W. 70 

Patterson, D. E. 78 

Paulus, D. A. 74 

Potter, C. L. 60 

Savage, George W. 71 

Sebastian, W. P. 64 

Stafford, E. N. 78 

Staples, S. L. 82 

Swann, J. J. 61 

Turner, D. McNeill. 79 

Turney, W. W.. 72 

Way land, J. A. 75 

Wheeler, C. A. 82 

Wilson, J. E. 63 

Yett, W. D. 80 

HOUSE. 

Hon. E. E. Prince, Speaker. 83 

Ackerman, J. M.144 

Adair, W. D. 83 

Aldrich, A. A.143 

Allred, L. W.... . 85 

Bean, B. F. . ..126 

Beatv, Lea .174 

Blalock, W. M. 85 









































INDEX. iii 

Boyd, S. K.184 

Bridgers, W. W. 87 

Brown, G. W.206 

Bryan, W. J.200 

Bullock, W. J. .187 

Calhoun, B. A. 88 

Callan, C. B.127 

Calvin, A. E.200 

Clements, Phil H.196 

Cole, A. T.200 

Connally, Tom . 91 

Conway, J. S.168 

Craddock, W. A. 201 

Crawford, S. R.201 

Cunningham, John . 89 

Cuny, P. M. 92 

Dean, J. M.201 

Decker, D. E. 95 

Dillard, W. W. 96 

Doyle, J. B.202 

Ellis, H. E.202 

Evans, W. R.202 

Fears, W. H. 97 

Fountain, J. L.128 

Garner, J. N.129 

Gary, Hampson . 99 

Gay, A. T.213 

Glenn, C. C. 203 

Goodlet, S. H.161 

Goodman, J. 1.191 

Gray, R. W., of Comanche.100 

Gray, C., of Eastland.101 

Green, J. M.195 

Greenwood, James .1.57 

Greer, R. A.102 

Griggs, G. B.163 

Grisham, J. N.203 

Hamilton, A. D.104 

Harbison, J. L.192 

Hawkins, A. S.I'lO 

Hemphill, J. B.Id5 

Henderson, Elam, of Henderson.203 

Henderson, Travis, of Lamar.203 

Hendrick, S. J.1^5 














































IV 


INDEX. 


Heslep, J. K.204 

Hill, F. F.106 

Hogsett, J. Y.172 

Houts, J. C.179 

Hurt, J. W.■..107 

Jones, J. S.132 

Kennedy, John, of Harris.180 

Kennedy, A. M., of Limestone.158 

Kyle, Ferg.133 

Lane, C. E. 134 

Little, J. L. 156 

Lively, M. T.204 

Looney, F. B.204 

Marsh, W. H.135 

McAnally, 0. F.205 

McClellan, W. R.151 

McFall, D. A.199 

Mclnnis, H. R.154 

McKnight, G. W.162 

McMeans, S. A. 108 

Meece, T. F.181 

Meitzen, Max .164 

Moore, E. T.110 

Moran, H. S.167 

Morris, A. W.205 

Morrow, Kestor .173 

Moursund, A. K.Ill 

Miigg, R. D.190 

Mulkey, 0. C.197 

Murray, W. 0.193 

Murrell, J. C.112 

Kapier, T. H.114 

Keff, Pat M.136 

Nicholson, J. 0.115 

Nolan, T. H.. . .200 

Nowlin, H. M.152 

Palmer, Ben.138 

Parish, S. W.150 

Perkins, J. 1.116 

Perry, E. L.169 

Phillips, D. W.205 

Pickett, E. B., Jr.171 

Pierson, William .175 

Poole, T. C. 183 















































INDEX. 


V 


Porter, E. T. 206 

Ragland, B. A. 139 

Hidl'ing, W. W. 212 

Roach, L. B.206 

Robertson, W. M., of Harrison.178 

Robertson, W. F., of Williamson.118 

Rochelle, W. C.211 

Rodriquez, T. A.119 

Rowland, J. T.185 

Russell, W. J.148 

Satterwhite, \jee .207 

Schlnter, L. S.121 

Seabnry, F. W.141 

Searcy, (). V .188 

Shannon, W. T.147 

, Shaw, W. A.122 

Smith, J. R.207 

Stell, A. T. 207 

Stewart, C. E.207 

Stollenwerek, J. W. 208 

Strother, J. S.208 

Talbot, Gayle .142 

Tarpey, W. P.146 

Terrell, G. B., of Cherokee.176 

Terrell, H. B., of ^McLennan.124 

Tharp, J. A.208 

Tluirmond, G. M.209 

Tinkler, J. W.209 

Van Sickle, W.125 

Walker, A. W.209 

Wells, T. P., of Grayson.211 

Wells, R. H., of Red River.209 

Willacv, John .210 

Williams, R. R.210 

Willingham, C. H. 210 

MISCELL.VXEOI^S. 

Officers Twenty-seventh Legislature.214 

State Officials Present /Vdministration.215 

Chief Executives of Texas—1691 to 1903.218 

General Elections in Texas.219 

Parliamentary Guide .222 

Waller, Edwin, Judge. 94 




























































HON. JOSEPH D. SAYEES 





STATE OFFICIALS 


GOA^ERNOR JOSEPH D. SAYERS. 

Austin. 

The Hon. Joseph D. Sayers, Governor of Texas, is a native of 
the State of Alississippi, born at Grenada, September 23, 1841. He 
is of Scotch-Irish lineage, and is descended from an old Virginia 
family that came to America prior to the Revolution. His farther, 
Dr. David Sayers, was a native of Virginia. As a physician he 
first began the practice of his profession in Mississippi, but later, 
in 1850, removed to Texas, locating in Bastrop County, where 
after a long career of useful citizenship he died in 1886. His wife, 
the mother of Governor Sayers, was before her marriage Miss Mary 
Thomas Peete. She died at Charleston, Miss., in 1847. 

Governor Sayers was educated at the Bastrop Military Institute, 
Bastrop, Texas. Early in 1861 he enlisted as a Confederate soldier 
and remained in the service till the close of the war. He was mus¬ 
tered in as a private in the Fifth Texas cavalry and was afterwards 
promoted to the adjutantcy of the regiment and then to the cap¬ 
taincy of the noted Val Verde battery. At the time of the sur¬ 
render of the Confederate forces he had risen to the rank of major, 
and served on the staff of Lieutenant-General Richard Taylor, east 
of the Mississippi River. He was with the famous Tom Green 
brigade in all its Trans-Mississippi service and was twice severely 
wounded. After the war he returned to his home, studied law, and 
was admitted to the bar at Bastrop in 1866. Associated with the: 
Hon. G. W. Jones, he entered upon active professional practice,, 
which was continued unremittingly until 1873, when he was elected 
to represent his senatorial district in the Thirteenth Texas Legis¬ 
lature. From that time to the present he has been almost con¬ 
tinuously in the service of the people. He was chairman of the 
State Democratic committee, 1875-Y8; was Lieutenant-Governor,. 
1879-^80; was elected to the Forty-ninth, Fiftieth, Fifty-first, Fifty- 
second, Fifty-third, Fifty-fourth, and Fifty-fifth Congresses, and 
was unanimously nominated by the State Democratic convention 
at Galveston in 1898 for the office of Governor of Texas. He was 

1—Gov’t. 



2 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


re-elected, and in the succeeding convention was again nominated 
by acclamation at Waco in 1900, following which he was elected to 
a second term, which administration is now in effective force. 

For a period of nearly thirty years he has performed faithfully 
the duties of a public servant, throughout which time and service 
he has commanded the esteem not only of his friends and colleagues 
but of all others, including his political party opponents in Con¬ 
gress. 


GOVERNOE JAS. N. BROWNING. 

Amarillo. 

The Hon. James N. Browning, now serving a second term as 
Lieutenant-Governor of the State of Texas, is a native of Clark 
County, Arkansas, born near the present town of Amity, March 13, 
1850. He is the grandson of John Browning, a native of Alabama, 
who grew to manhood in that State in time to serve as a captain 
in the Seminole war. He removed with his family to Arkansas 
and died near Arkadelphia in 1853. His son, W. F. Browning, the 
father of Governor Browning, was also a native of Alabama, and 
accompanied his father on his removal to Arkansas, which was 
soon after the State had been admitted into the Union. He was 
a farmer and a surveyor. He was county surveyor of Clark County 
for many years, and was filling that office at the time of his death 
in July, 1854. He was married to Miss Mary L. Burke, the mother 
of Governor Browning, in 1842. She was born in North Carolina, 
but was reared in Alabama, where her father, William Burke, died 
about 1855. Mrs. Browning is still living, in the eighty-second 
year of her age, has good health, and unimpaired mental strength. 

His fathers death occurred when Governor Browning was only 
four years old, and seven years later the Civil war came on. His 
home was situated in territory which was alternately in possession 
of the Confederate and Federal soldiery, and suffered the attendant 
ravages naturally resulting. His family was not an exception; 
they lost with others, and after the war was over there was little 
of material worth left for the Brownings. Governor Browning 
was at this time about 15 years old. His school days were over, 
and all the education he had received, except at his home, was ob¬ 
tained during eight months^ attendance of a country school, the 
sessions of which were held in an old log schoolhouse. A"et with 
these disadvantages, he is to-day a scholar possessing by far more 
than ordinary attainments. In 1866 he came with his mother’s 
family to Texas and settled first in Cook County, remaining there 




















• •• 






TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


3 


about one year, but then removing to Shackelford County. He 
became a stockman and followed tliis business in a very successful 
way for nine years, after which he pursued the study of law and 
was. admitted to the bar at Albany, in Shackelford County, in 1876. 
In the earlier part of his professional life he served as justice of the 
peace two years, and then three years as county attorney of Shackel¬ 
ford County. This latter service terminated in 1881, at which 
time he removed to Mobeetie, Wheeler County, where he accepted 
the appointment from Governor Eoberts of district attorney for 
that district, but resigned the position at the end of one year to 
resume private practice. In 188*3 he was elected to represent the 
43d legislative district in the Eighteenth Legislature. This dis¬ 
trict was composed of sixty-nine counties and embraced the terri¬ 
tory west of and including the counties of Shackelford, Wichita, 
Archer, Baylor, Throckmorton, and Callahan, and thence west to 
the line of New Mexico, including all north of the Texas & Pacific 
Eailroad, comprising what is known as the ^^Texas Panhandle,and 
designated as the Jumbo district. In that race he had two op¬ 
ponents in the general election, both Democrats, and defeated 
them by a vote of about two to one. He was elected again in 1884 
and in 1886 to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Legislatures, run¬ 
ning as a Democrat and without opposition. He declined to run in 
1888, but in 1890 was again elected from the same district without 
opposition. In the Twenty-second house he was a candidate 
against the Hon. Eobert Milner of Eusk for speaker, being de¬ 
feated by a vote of 53 to 50. In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth 
Legislatures he was chairman of the Committee on Stock and Stock 
Eaising, and in the Twentieth and Twenty-second he was chairman 
of Judiciary Committee No. 1. After the close of the term of the 
Twenty-second Legislature he retired from public life till 1898, 
when he became a candidate for the office of Lieutenant-Governor. 
Senator James E. Gough was also an aspirant for nomination, but 
withdrew before the convention assembled. Governor Browning 
was nominated by acclamation, and was again nominated in 1900 
without opposition. 

During his service in the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth 
Legislatures the ffiand question'' was the issue that attracted the 
most serious attention, and he was at once recognized as the leader 
of the ^Tree grass" advocates, or those who opposed the leasing of 
lands for any purpose. He strenuously held that the lease would 
constitute a menace to the settlement of his country. This issue 
was settled against him by the Democratic State conventions at 
Houston in 1884 and at Galveston in 1886, which however did not 
in anywise estrange him from his party. He fought for the actual 


4 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


settler to the last, and it is safe to say that through his efforts the 
policy of the State became settled in favor of reserving the lands 
for homes of the people. 

In 1888 he moved with his family from Mobeetie to Clarendon, 
in Donley County, wdiere he practiced law till 1896, when they re¬ 
moved to Amarillo, Potter County, where he has since resided. 

Governor Browning has been twice married; first, to Miss Cor¬ 
nelia E. Beckham of Fort Griffin, Texas, in 1876. Of their two 
children, only one. Miss Mittie, survives. The mother died at Fort 
Griffin in the early part of 1878. His second wife was Miss Virginia 
I. Boyman, to whom he was married in 1879. They have seven 
children. 

The facts pertaining to the career of Governor Browning, simply 
stated, are a sufficient commentary on his life. From a state of 
orphanage and impecuniosity in early boyhood he has won his way 
to success and distinction. He has achieved much in the line of 
greatness as a public man, not the least items of which are the 
universal esteem and absolute confidence of his people. 


HOH. JAMES L. SLAYDEX, M. C. 

San Antonio. 

The 12th congressional district of Texas is represented in the 
Congress of the United States by the Hon. James L. Slayden of 
San Antonio. He is of Virginian parentage, but was born in 
southern Kentucky, June 1, 1853. He received his earlier educa¬ 
tion in the rural schools of Kentucky during the wuir period. At 
the age of 16 he left his native State and went to Kew Orleans, 
La., where an elder brother, there engaged in business, had pre¬ 
ceded him. He remained in Xew Orleans two years, during which 
time he was at w^ork and was gaining tha.t practical knowledge of 
business which has been utilized jidvantageously by him in later 
pursuits and avocations. He then had a brief turn of college life 
at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va., after which 
he returned to Kew Orleans and his former work there, where he 
remained till Kovember, 1876, when he came to Texas. He wuis 
engaged in the cattle business for two years, but then became a 
cotton merchant and so continued until the summer of 1896. In 
1892 he was elected to the Twenty-third Legislature of Texas and 
served one,term in the house of representatives. In 1896 he was 
the nominee of the Democratic party for representative in the 
Fifty-fifth Congress of the United States from the 12th district 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


5 


of ^iexas. He was opposed in the general election by Judge 
xsoonan, the then sitting ineniber, whom he defeated by a majority 
of 1401 votes. Again, in 1898, he was in the race for Congress 
against Judge Xoonan, whom he again defeated by a flattering 
majority. In 1900 he was a candidate for re-election and was 
returned to Congress over the Hon. C. C. Drake, Republican candi¬ 
date, by a majority of nearly 1000. 

Mr. Slayden is a typical specimen of the American self-made 
man. Beginning life under circumstances which rendered the 
facilities of educational advancement meager, he pursued under 
dithculties tlii' way that has led him to the possession of a broad 
and embracive knowledge. As a business man he has been fairly 
successful, and being absolutely free from every characteristic 
marking the modern American politician, he has been selected to 
represent his people in the National council of legislators solely on 
account of his ability and true worth. 


HON. REUBEN REED GAINES. 


Austin. 


The Hon. Reuben R. Gaines, chief justice of the Supreme Court 
of Texas, was born in Sumter County, Alabama, October 30, 1836. 
His grandfather, Joab Gaines, was a South Carolina farmer and 
stock raiser and lived in that, his native State, till near the close 
of his life, when he removed to Washington County, Alabama. 
The father of Judge Gaines, Joab Gaines, Jr., was also born in 
South Carolina. He left his father when young and lived in Mis¬ 
sissippi and Florida, but finally settled in Alabama. He was a 
prominent Alabama planter of Choctaw County, where he died in 
July, 1855. The mother of Judge Gaines, Mrs. Lucinda Gaines, 
was the daughter of John McDavid, a farmer, who lived and died 
in Escambia County, Florida. She died in Choctaw County, Ala¬ 
bama, in July, 1856. 

Judge Gaines was graduated from the University of Alabama, 
taking the A. B. degree, in 1855. After completing his literary 
course he entered the law department of Cumberland University, 
at Lebanon, Tenn., and took the LL. B. degree in 1857. Immedi¬ 
ately after attaining his majority he entered upon the practice of 
law as a member of the firm of Manning, Catterlin & Gaines, at 
Butler, Ala. After practicing with this firm two years he left 
Butler and went to Selma, Ala., where he became a member of the 
law firm of Shortriclge & Gaines. This firm continued in practice 


6 


BIOGKAPIIICAL SKETCHES 


until the breaking out of the Civil war, when the professional 
career of Judge Gaines was broken by his enlistment in the army 
as a Confederate soldier. He entered the service as a member of 
Captain Murphy^s company of the Third Alabama regiment of 
cavalry. He became adjutant of the regiment and was soon afteiv 
ward promoted to assistant adjutant-general, serving as such on the 
respective staffs of Col. Hagan and of Gens. Morgan and Allen, each 
commanding a brigade of cavalry. Later, when Gen. Allen was 
made a division commander in Wheeler^s corps of cavalry. Judge 
Gaines served with him as assistant adjutant-general, and surren¬ 
dered as such May 3, 1865, at Charlotte, N. C. He returned to Ala¬ 
bama, and came to Texas in February, 1866. He located at Clarks¬ 
ville, in Fed Fiver County, and resumed the practice of his profes¬ 
sion as a member of the law firm of Epperson & Gaines, afterward 
Gaines & Wooten, and later of Gaines & Gaines. He was elected 
judge of the 6th judicial district in April, 1876, and was re-elected 
to that office in November, 1880. After serving the latter term he 
returned to the practice of law, January 1, 1885, as a member of 
the firm of Gaines & Hodges, and in 1886 as a member of the law 
firm of Dudley & Gaines. In 1886 he was nominated at Galveston 
as the Democratic candidate for associate justice of the Supreme 
Court to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Sawnie 
Fobertson. Pending his candidacy he was appointed by Governor 
Ireland to fill that vacancy until the ensuing general election, when 
he was elected to that office. He was re-elected in November, 1888, 
for the full term of six years, before the expiration of which, 
however, he was appointed by Governor Hogg chief justice of the 
Supreme Bench to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of 
Judge John W. Stayton. To this position he was elected in No¬ 
vember, 1894, and under the amendment to the Constitution drew 
the long term. In November, 1900, he was re-elected and is still 
the presiding justice of the Supreme Court. 

He was married in March, 1859, at Montevalla, Ala., to Miss 
Louisa Shortridge, daughter of Judge George D. Shortridge, who 
lived at that place. They have one daughter, Lelia Shortridge, 
the wife of James Temple Gwathney, vice-president of the Cotton 
Exchange, New York. Judge Gaines is a Knight of Honor, an 
Odd Fellow, and a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon and Philo- 
mathic societies, both fraternities of the University of Alabama, 
his alma mater. 

The following lines appropriately conclude a biographical sketch 
of Judge Gaines published in a book of biographies some years 
ago by Loughery & Wickes: 

^^Texas from her earliest history as a Fepublic, and since her 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


7 


admission into the Union, has been particularly fortunate in this 
respect, that her Supreme Court has been presided over by prac¬ 
tically ah unbroken line of men of great natural ability, force of 
character, and solid learning, and the decisions of Judge Gaines 
have been uniformly of a character to maintain the high reputation 
of that tribunal.^^ 


HON. THOMAS J. BROWN. 

Sherman. 

(Official Residence, Austin.) 

The Hon. Thomas J. Brown, associate justice of the Supreme 
Court of Texas, was born in Jasper County, Georgia, July 24,* 
1836. His father, Ervin Brown, was a native of North Carolina. 
He was a farmer, and early after reaching manhood removed to 
Georgia and located in Jasper County. His mother was the 
daughter of Henry Burdette, who was a citizen of South Carolina, 
where she was born. Mr. Burdette was also a pioneer settler of 
Jasper County, Georgia. Mr. BrowWs father emigrated to Texas 
in the year 1846-M7 and settled, in Washington County, where 
he engaged in farming. 

Judge Thomas J. Brown was admitted to the practice of law in 
1857, one year prior to his graduation in law from the Baylor 
University, which was in 1858. Soon after leaving college he 
went to McKinney, in Collin County, Texas, where he remained 
and practiced his profession until 1872, at which time he per¬ 
manently located at Sherman. He was prominent at the bar of 
McKinney and Sherman and was recognized in the higher State 
courts as a lawyer of more than ordinary ability. On this ac¬ 
count and on account of his known general intelligence and up¬ 
right citizenship he was selected by his fellow citizens of the 
8th legislative district to represent that constituency in the 
Twenty-first and Twenty-second Legislatures. He was one of 
the earliest advocates of the Railroad Commission, and it is doubt¬ 
less due in a large measure to his presentation of this matter in 
the halls of legislation and elsewhere that it became a public 
demand and later a creation under special constitutional pro¬ 
vision. 

Judge Brown was a Confederate soldier. He entered the ser¬ 
vice as a lieutenant of Company E, in Colonel Robert Taylor’s 
regiment of Confederate cavalry, was promoted to captain, and 
remained therein until failing health compelled him to resign 


8 


BIOGRAPPIICAL SKETCHES 


and retire. In 1893 he was appointed by Governor Hogg asso¬ 
ciate justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, to fill a vacancy 
caused by the resignation of Justice John L, Henry. At the 
expiration of the term for which Judge Henry had been elected 
Judge Brown was regularly nominated by the Democracy and 
elected by the people of Texas a member of that court, which 
position he still fills. 

He was married August 7, 1859, to Miss Louisa T. Estis of 
Collin County, a lady whose native grace, accomplishments, and 
charming presence have been the inspiration of his life, and whose 
attractive gentleness has brought into their home the kindly re¬ 
gard of almost numberless friends. They have five daughters, all 
of whom have reached the age of maturity. He is a member of 
and elder in the Christian church, of which his wife is also a 
member. 


HON. FKANK ALVAN WILLIAMS. 

Austin. 

The Hon. Frank Alvan Williams, associate justice of the Su¬ 
preme Court of Texas, is a native of Macon, Miss., born October 6, 
1851. His foreparents were early settlers of the Carolinas; his 
father, Bryan T. Williams, and his mother, Mrs. Helen (Koonce) 
Williams, were both natives of the State of North Carolina. 

Judge Williams was educated in his native town, and after com¬ 
pleting his literary course he came to Texas and began the study 
of law at Crockett in the office of D, A. Nunn. In the spring of 
the next year, 1872, before he had reached the age of 21 years, he 
was licensed to practice law, his disabilities as a minor being re¬ 
moved for that purpose. He soon thereafter entered into partner¬ 
ship with his former preceptor. Judge Nunn, and engaged actively 
in practice with him until August, 1884. In that year he was a 
candidate on the Democratic ticket for the office of judge of the 
3d judicial district. During his candidacy he was appointed by 
Governor Ireland to that position, which he held by subsequent 
election until September, 1892, when he was appointed associate 
justice of the Court of Civil Appeals at Galveston. He held this 
office until 1899, having been elected and re-elected to the position. 
Before the expiration of the latter term, however, he was appointed 
associate justice of the Supreme Court to succeed Judge Denman, 
resigned. His advancement to a seat on the Supreme Bench met 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


9 


public approval, as' has been manifested by his being elected in 
1900 as his own successor for a regular term. 

Judge Williams was married to Miss Laura Celeste Fisher at 
New Waverly, Texas, November 24, 1880. As a private citizen he 
commands universal esteem; as a public official he is in rank with 
the ablest jurists. 


HON. C. C. GAKRETT. 

Breniiam. 

(Olticial Kesidence, Galveston.) 

Hon. Christopher Columbus Garrett, chief justice of the Court 
of Civil Appeals, 1st supreme judicial district, was born near 
Chappell Hill, in Washington County, February 3, 1846. His 
parents, 0. H. P. Garrett a?id Nancy M. Garrett, whose maiden 
name also was Garrett, were both natives of Laurens district. South 
Carolina. His father came to Texas in 1838, but went back to 
South Carolina, married his cousin. Miss Nancy M. Garrett, and 
returned to Texas in 1842, accompanied by his father-in-law. He 
settled in Washington County, which became his permanent home. 
He was county judge of Washington County under the Throck¬ 
morton administration, but was removed by the military govern¬ 
ment as an alleged impediment to reconstruction. 

The antecedents of the Garrett family came to America from 
England during the colonial period and settled in Virginia. Ed¬ 
ward Garrett moved from Virginia to South Carolina prior to the 
Revolutionary war. He was the father of John Garrett, who was 
the father of Thomas and Hosea Garrett. Thomas Garrett was born, 
lived, and died in Laurens district. South Carolina. He was the 
father of 0. H. P. Garrett, and was the paternal grandfather of 
the subject of this sketch. Hosea Garrett was the father of Nancy 
M. Garrett and was the maternal grandfather of Judge C. C. Gar¬ 
rett. Hosea Garrett was a Baptist minister, and for many years 
was president of the board of trustees of Baylor University. 

Judge Garrett received his primary education in the old field 
schools of Washington County. He attended Baylor University, 
and later Soule University, but finally finished his collegiate course 
at the Washington and Lee University, while General Robert E. 
Lee was its honored president, graduating in 1869 with the degrees 
of A. B. and B. P. After leaving college he taught school for a 
few months, reading law at the same time. He attended the Bay¬ 
lor University law school at Brenham, and was finally admitted to 


10 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


the bar at that place on February 11, 1871. He practiced there¬ 
until 1888, when he was elected judge of the 21st judicial district,, 
composed of Washington, Lee, and Burleson counties, which office 
he tilled until 1891, when he was appointed by Governor Hogg one 
of the three additional judges composing the Commission of Ap¬ 
peals. When the appellate judicial system of the State was re¬ 
modeled in 1892 Judge Garrett became chief justice of the 1st 
supreme judicial district, known as the ^^Galveston Court of Civil 
Appeals.’’ He has since remained on that bench as its presiding 
justice. 

. Judge Garrett began his life career well prepared for the work 
of his chosen profession. His education is both classical and legaL 
His graduating thesis, for which he was awarded the ^^college ora¬ 
tion prize,” was “The Majesty of Law,” a subject the proper treat¬ 
ment of which involves a knowledge based upon general lore. He 
is a lover of higher education, and has done much to encourage 
the youth of his State in this line of advancement. He was at 
one time president of the board of directors of the A. and M. Col¬ 
lege, and, with others, he has been instrumental in raising the city 
schools of Brenham to rank with the best of the State. 

He enlisted as a Confederate soldier in Captain Williamson’s- 
company of cadets. Company B, Mann’s regiment, Texas cavalry. 
His company was detached and assigned to coast patrol duty and 
saw no active service. 

Judge Garrett married September 27, 1870, at Brenham, Texas,. 
Miss Dora Rial. She is descended from an old Carolina family 
and is the daughter of John E. Rial and Mrs. Eleanor (Tims) 
Rial. Their children are: Eleanor, wife of Dr. R. E. Bledsoe; 
Ed. Perry Garrett, cashier Texas Tie and Lumber Preserving Co.; 
Harry L., deputy clerk Court of Civil Appeals, Galveston; John R.,^ 
stenographer and law clerk—all of age; and younger children: 
Elsie and Gladys, daughters, and Christopher C., and Kenneth,, 
minor sons. They have been reared under the influence of the 
Baptist church, of which their parents are members. Judge Gar¬ 
rett is a Knight of Pythias. 


HOK. WALTIIS HUGHES GILL. 

Palestine. 

(Official Residence, Galveston.) 

Hon. Waltus Hughes Gill, associate justice Court of Civil Ap¬ 
peals, 1st supreme judicial district, Galveston, is the son of William 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


IT 


Sherwood Gill and Mrs. Sarah Francis (Hughes) Gill, natives of 
Kentucky, and now living at Allensville in that State. Their 
parents were formerly of Virginia, but removed to Kentucky at a 
very early day. Judge Gill was born at Allensville, Todd Count}^, 
Kentucky, November 25, 1860, and was reared and given his pri¬ 
mary education at that place, later attending school at Pough¬ 
keepsie, N. Y. Selecting the profession of law as a life pursuit,, 
he entered the Lebanon Law School, Lebanon, Tenn., and was grad¬ 
uated therefrom in the spring of 1882. He came at once to Pales¬ 
tine, Texas, and began practicing law, taking immediately a 
prominent position at that bar. He was elected city attorney of 
Palestine in 1884, county attorney of Anderson County in 1886, 
and district attorney of the 3d judicial district in 1888. He served 
two terms as district attorney, but refused to run for the place a 
third time. He entered the general practice at Palestine in part¬ 
nership with the Hon. S. A. McMeans, which firm association 
continued to exist until 1896, whgn Judge Gill was elected to the 
judgeship of the 3d judicial district. After a little more than 
two years service as district judge, he accepted appointment as 
associate justice of the Court of Civil Appeals for the 1st supreme 
judicial district to fill the vacancy occasioned by the advancement 
of Judge F. A. Williams to the Supreme Bench. At the expiration 
of this term, in 1900, he was elected to succeed himself for the 
following six-year term. 

Judge Gill, although a loyal party Democrat, does not claim 
distinction as an active party worker, and his friends know that 
he has reached his present position on the bench not through the 
channel of political preferment, but because of his eminent fitness 
for the place. 

He was married in Palestine, Texas, August 28, 1890, to Mrs. 
Caroline Arnold Mangum, widow of Dr. George Mangum. She is 
the daughter of Captain John Arnold and Mrs. Arnold, formerly 
Miss Belle DeArmond Of Waverly, Montgomery County, Texas. 
They have one son, Hugh, about eight years old. Judge Gill is a 
prominent Mason, and is a man regarded by all as being worthy 
the repose of any trust, and one who commands the highest esteem 
of his fellow citizens. 


12 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HOIvT. ROBERT ATKINSON PLEASANTS. 

CUEKO. 

(Official Residence, Galveston.) 

The Hon. Robert Atkinson Pleasants, associate justice of the 
Court of Civil Appeals for the 1st district of Texas, was born in 
HeWitt County, Texas, February 14, 1860. He is the son of the 
late Judge H. Clay Pleasants and Mrs. Ann Eliza (Atkinson) 
Pleasants. His father. Judge Pleasants, was one of the most 
prominent and best known lawyers of the State. He was district 
judge of the 24th judicial district of Texas from 1876 to 1892, and 
associate justice Court of Civil Appeals, 1st supreme judicial dis¬ 
trict from 1892 until his death at Galveston, November 7, 1899. 
His mother is still living at Cuero. Texas. His parents were both 
natives of Virginia, and he is directly descended from the old 
English family of that name which came to Virginia early in the 
Seventeenth century. James Pleasants, one of the line of great 
uncles, was Governor of Virginia before the war; was for a short 
time representative of his State in the United States senate, and 
also served upon the Supreme Bench. Bishop Thomas Atkinson 
of North Carolina and Dr. John Atkinson, for a long time presi¬ 
dent of Hampden Sidney College, Virginia, were both uncles of 
Mrs. Pleasants, mother of the subject of this sketch. 

Judge Pleasants was educated in home schools, and after leaving 
Guadalupe Academy, Cuero, Texas, he entered the law department 
of the University of Texas and was a member of its first graduating 
class. Finishing his university course, he returned to Cuero and 
practiced law at that place until his appointment, November 20, 
1899, to succeed his honored father as one of the bench of Civil 
Appeals for the 1st district, sitting at Galveston. Prior to his 
appointment he was associated in practice with the Hon. A. B. 
Davidson, present representative of the 22d senatorial district, and 
was engaged in an extended practice in the courts of DeWitt and 
adjacent judicial territory. 

He was married at Cuero, Texas, December 29, 1886, to Miss 
Mary White, daughter of the late Dr. A. C. White, a prominent 
and popular physician of that place. They have only one child 
living, their son, Aaron White Pleasants, about 13 years old, who 
is a very promising boy and the pride of their home. 

As a Democrat he has always been an active worker in the ranks 
of his party; was chairman of the Democratic executive committee 
of his county for four years, and was co-delega;te with Senator 








I'•'I ;i 



# * 


. rn • 





9 







JUDGE JOHN P. WHITE. 





TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


IS 

Dibrell, from the 11th congressional district, to the National Demo¬ 
cratic convention of 1896. In 1900 he was nominated and elected 
without opposition to fill the four years nnexpired term of his- 
father as justice of Court of Civil Appeals. 

In the private walks of life Judge Pleasants is esteemed for his 
social qualities and for his recognized worth as a citizen, always 
ready to contribute, to the extent of his ability, toward every good 
cause. He is a member of the Episcopal churcu and a Mason of 
the Knight Templar degree. 

HON. JOHN P. WHITE. 

Austin. 

The Hon. John P. White, ex-presiding judge of the Court of 
Appeals of Texas, and at present reporter for the Court of Criminal 
Appeals, was born at Fruit Hill, near Abingdon, Va., March 7, 
1832. His father, James L. White, also a native of Virginia, was 
a merchant, who lived the major portion of his life at Abingdon, 
but who died in Madison County, Alabama, where he was tem¬ 
porarily attending to business. His mother, Mrs. Margaret Khea 
(Preston) White, was born at Walnut Grove, Washington County, 
Virginia, and died at Abingdon. Her biography appears in each 
of two volumes of the family tree. 

Judge White was graduated from Emory and Henry College,. 
Washington County, Virginia, in 1850, receiving the Robertson 
medal for oratory. Immediately thereafter he entered the law 
department of the University of Virginia, under Professor Minor,, 
probably the most distinguished law professor of the United States, 
and in this year, 1851, was selected anniversary orator of the Jef¬ 
ferson Literary Society. On leaving the latter institution he pur¬ 
sued a course of professional training in the office of the Hon. 
Samuel Logan, Commonwealth attorney of Washington County,. 
Virginia, and after being admitted to the bar, in 1853, entered 
actively into the practice of law. 

In 1855 he came to Texas and located at Seguin, in Guadalupe 
County, where he built up an extensive practice and served one 
term as mayor of that town, and was several terms county attorney 
of Guadalupe County. In 1874 he was appointed by Governor 
Coke district judge of the old 22d judicial district, composed of 
the counties of Guadalupe, Gonzales, Caldwell, and Hays. In 1876 
he was elected one of the three judges of the original Court of 
Appeals. He sat with this court three terms, and in 1879, upon 
the death of Judge Ector, then presiding judge of that court, he 


14 


BIOGKArillCAL SKETCHES 


was elected presiding judge as his successor, lie resigned April 
26, 1892, and on the next day was appointed reporter for the Court 
of Appeals, afterwards changed to the Court of Criminal Appeals. 
He has ever since held this position, having reported volumes 30, 
Appeal Reports,^^ to volume 41 of ‘^Texas Criminal Reports,^^ in¬ 
clusive. In the meantime and since he resigned as presiding judge 
he has prepared and has been the author of ‘Tirst Volume Texas 
Appeals, Civil Cases, White & Willson also ^AVhite^s Annotated 
Penal Code,^^ with forms for indictments, and ^AVhite’s Annotated 
Code of Criminal Procedure,^^ with forms for pleading and practice. 
Probably the most useful and important aid in the administration 
of the criminal law of PVxas is his blank forms for charges by 
judges to juries in all criminal cases known to our penal statutes. 
These charges have been in daily use by most of the district and 
county judges of the State since their publication and circulation 
by George D. Barnard & Co., of St. Louis, about ten years ago. 

Judge White has devoted a long life to his profession, unbroken 
except by his service during the war in the Confederate army. He 
raised and commanded as captain Company E of the Sixth Texas 
infantry. Garland’s regiment. 

He was married in 1853 to Miss Annie Stuart Lewis of Char¬ 
lottesville, Va. She was the daughter of Dr. John B. Lewis, for¬ 
merly of Old Sweet Springs, Monroe County, West Virginia. 
Their children are: Janies L., a lawyer, of Austin, Texas; Annie 

L. , wife of Dr. John Preston of Lockhart, Texas; Milton, a lawyer, 
who died at Austin in 1892; Mary M., wife of B. M. Crenshaw of 
Austin; Walter L., laAvyer and justice of the peace, at Austin; Dr. 

M. L., a dentist, now living in New York, and Miss Bessie White, 
still at the home of her parents. 

Judge White and his family are attendants of the Episcopal 
church, of which he is an active member. He is president of the 
Austin Alumni Association of the University of Virginia. He is 
one of the best known lawyers of his adopted State; is an honored 
and useful citizen, highly esteemed by all who have the pleasure 
of a personal acquaintance with him. 

HON. I. W. STEPHENS. 

Weatherford. 

(Official Residence, Fort Worth.) 

Hon. I. W. Stephens, associate justice of the Court of Civil Ap¬ 
peals for the 2d district of Texas, is a native Tennesseean, born in 
Bledsoe Count}^ November 15, 1850. His father, Mark Stephens, 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


15 


and his mother, Mrs. E. C. Stephens, were both of American birth, 
and were residents of Tennessee, where Mr. Stephens during his 
life pursued successfully the business of farming. The independ¬ 
ent circumstances of his father afforded Judge Stephens the facili¬ 
ties of a thorough education. He first attended Sequatchie and 
Burritt colleges in his native State, but afterwards, in 1872, was 
graduated from the Washington and Lee University of. Virginia, 
winning the debater’s medal of the Washington Literary Society 
for that year. Until this time he had not decided upon any espe¬ 
cial profession as a life pursuit, but engaged for a short period in 
the business of teaching. While thus employed he came to the 
conclusion that he would enter the legal profession. Pre])aring 
himself by the necessary course of reading and study, lie was ad¬ 
mitted to the bar and, associated with Judge E. L. Gardenhire, of 
Sparta, Tenn., his law instructor, he there began the practice of 
law. 

In 1874 he left Sparta and his native State and came to Texas, 
locating at Weatherford, in Parker County, which became the place 
of his permanent residence, and where he has since lived and prac¬ 
ticed his profession. He gradually gained popularity and repute 
at the bar of his district and neighboring field of practice, and later 
attained to prominence in the practice of the higher courts. At 
different periods of his practice he has been in professional associa¬ 
tion with such law partners as the late W. E. Prince, H. M. Chap¬ 
man, A. J. Hood, S. W. T. Lanham, and others, all standing high 
at the bar of the State. In 1892 Judge Stephens qualified as asso¬ 
ciate judge of the Court of Civil Appeals for the 2d district of 
Texas, which position he has since filled with the distinction at¬ 
tending ability and absolute fairness of action. Excepting a term 
of service in his earlier practice as county attorney of Parker 
County, he has never held any official position other than that of 
appellate judge. 

Judge Stephens was married November 28, 1878, to Miss Jennie 
Martin of Weatherford, Texas. They have an interesting family 
of six daughters,—Misses Bess, Daisy, Eutli, Mary, Lucy, and Ella, 
most of them yet children, but approaching maturity. 

In addition to his professional worth. Judge Stephens has been 
of great value to his community in the various lines of contribution 
forming the work of a useful citizen. In his advancing years he 
finds the reward waiting upon an honorable career. Honestly ac¬ 
quired accumulations make him financially independent, while he 
rests in the high regard of all who know him. He is a member 
of the M. E. Church South, of which his family are also members 
and attendants. 


16 


BIOCxRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON. JOHN HENNINGER REAGAN. 

Palestine. 

(Official Residence, Austin.) 

The Hon. John H. Reagan, chairman of the Railroad Commis¬ 
sion of Texas, is a native of Tennessee, born in Sevier County, Oc¬ 
tober 8, 1818. He is the son of Timothy R. and Elizabeth (Lusk) 
Reagan, and is descended from English, Welsh, Irish, and German 
ancestry, who came to America before the Revolution. He was 
educated in his native State at Nancy Academy, in Sevierville; 
Boyd^s Creek Academy, in Sevier County; and at the Southwestern 
Seminary, in Marysville. In 1839, just before he reached his 
majority, he came to Texas, unaccompanied by his parents. 

A few weeks later he volunteered as a private in General Thomas 
J. Rushes regiment and participated in the battles of the 15th and 
16th of July of that year with ihe Cherokee and other tribes of 
Indians. In the fall of that year he became a deputy surveyor 
of the public lands of Texas and continued in that business at in¬ 
tervals for about four years, alternating with work on the farm 
and as private tutor for the children of the late John Durst of 
Nocogdoches County. In the year 1842, while absent from his 
home, he was elected captain of a company of militia, and justice 
of the peace of his precinct. In 1843 he was for a short time 
captain of a company in active service. In the fall of 1844 he 
settled in what is now Kaufman County, opened a small farm, and 
engaged in stock raising, and commenced reading law. In 1846 
he received a temporary license to practice law, and that year was 
elected probate judge and lieutenant-colonel of militia of the new 
county of Anderson. In 1847 he was elected a member of the 
Legislature for the district composed of the counties of Nacog¬ 
doches, Angelina, Cherokee, Smith, Henderson, Kaufman, Van 
Zandt, Wood, and part of the counties of Upshur, Hunt, and Dal¬ 
las, along with two others. In the early part of 1848 he received 
his regular license to practice law, and engaged in the practice of 
law until 1852, when he was elected to the office of district judge 
for a term of six years. He served four years of that term, but in 
1856 resigned and was re-elected for another six years. This lat¬ 
ter term was broken by his election to the Congress of the United 
States in 1857, to which he was again elected in 1859. In 1860 
he was a delegate to the Secesvsion convention and a member of the 
provisional congress of the Confederacy the same year. In 1861 
he was Postmaster-General under the provisional government, and 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


17 


in 1862 under the constitutional government of the Confederacy. 
Near the close of the war between the States he was secretary ad 
interim of the Confederate treasury. In 1875 he was elected to 
the Congress of the United States and re-elected in 1877, 1879, 
1881, 1883, 1885, and 1887, but did not serve the last term because 
of his election to the senate of the United States. In 1891 he re¬ 
signed his seat in the United States senate, at the solicitation of 
Governor Hogg, to take the chairmanship of the Kailroad Commis¬ 
sion of Texas, which was a sacrifice deemed necessary for the 
effective establishment of this newly provided State institution. 

For more than half a century, as a public man, he has labored 
for the public good, and it may be said of his work that all he 
has performed has been well and faithfully done. Though his 
career has been of a civic character, he began as a soldier, and the 
militant spirit has since remained dormant only as it has given 
place to a higher line of duty. While a member of the Confed¬ 
erate cabinet he not infrequently entered the lines in defense of 
the city of Richmond, and it is well known to those familiar with 
the history of his family that valor is not one of its wanting 
characteristics. 

In 1866, in Anderson County, Judge Reagan was married to 
jVIiss Polly Ford Taylor, whose father was one of the earliest set¬ 
tlers, having been a resident of Anderson County probably fifty 
years. Judge Reagan is a member of the M. E. Church South; 
is a Knight Templar Mason. He is a past master of the lodge at 
Palestine, and has filled a number of positions in the chapter and 
commandery in that city. 

He has been a useful citizen, and with mental vigor unimpaired, 
he yet labors, finding consciousness of duty performed and the 
approbation of an appreciative people the reward of his life work. 


HON. LEONIDAS JEFFERSON STOREY. 

Lockhart. 

(Official Residence, Austin.) 

The Hon. L. J. Storey, a State official, at this writing serving his 
second term as Railroad Commissioner of Texas, is a native of 
Georgia, born in Chatooga County, October 6, 1834. He is de¬ 
scended paternally from Irish ancestry, but on his mothers side he 
is of Scotch lineage. His foreparents on both sides came to 
America prior to the Revolutionary war and took active part in the 
struggle for American independence. His father and grandfather 

2—Gov’t. 


18 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Were soldiers in the war of 1812. He is the seventh son of Colonel 
John T. Storey, who was born in Virginia on the 1st day of Jnly, 
1796, and who was married in North Carolina in 1818 to Miss Lucy 
McLester, the mother of the subject of this sketch. She was a 

native of Carolina, born Septem^r 25, 1797. Soon after their 

marriage his parents settled in Jackson County, Georgia, but about 
the year 1833 removed to northwest Georgia, locating in what is 
now Chatooga County, but which was then part of a section of 
Georgia known as the Indian or Cherokee nation. Here Colonel 
Storey was an Indian agent, and about 1838 was in command of 
the regiment composing the military escort that moved the Chero¬ 
kee Indians from that section of the country to Arkansas. In 
1839 Colonel Storey came to Texas and purchased lands near 
Seguin. He however did not bring his family out till 1845, or 

just before the annexation of Texas to the United States. He first 

settled in Gonzales County, but in 1847 he moved to Lockhart, in 
Caldwell County, and was the first county judge to preside in that 
county. In 1846 Colonel Storey and three of his sons joined the 
Texas rangers under Captain Henry E. McCulloch. Colonel 
Storey was a lieutenant in that company and fought Indians under 
that gallant ranger on the frontier of Texas. Two of these sons 
died in 1846 while members of that company. The other. Captain 
E. F. Storey, went to Colorado in 1853, thence to Nevada, and in 
1860 raised a company to fight Indians and was killed in battle 
near Virginia City in an engagement with Piute Indians. He is 
buried in Virginia City, Nev. 

Judge L. J. Storey, the subject of this sketch, was educated prin¬ 
cipally in the common schools of Texas, closing his school days at 
Austin College, then located at Huntsville, Texas, in June, 1857. 
Eeturning to his home at Lockhart, without means to prosecute 
further his studies in college, he entered the law office of Rogan & 
Whitis, and fourteen months thereafter, in October, 1858, was 
licensed to practice law. Judge A. W. Terrell being the presiding 
judge. He at once began the practice of his chosen profession at 
Lockhart, and excepting his four years service as a Confederate 
soldier, he enjoyed a lucrative practice from the beginning of his 
career as a lawyer until he accepted the appointment as Railroad 
Commissioner in November, 1894. 

As stated above. Judge Storey served in the Confederate army. 
When the question of secession was agitated he disagreed with its 
advocates and spoke and voted against the measure. He took the 
position that the South had the right to secede and that there was 
great provocation, but that secession was not the best policy. When 
the vote was taken and it became evident that the South was deter- 




TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


19 


mined to withdraw from the Union, he assisted in raising the first 
company that went from his county and enlisted with it to serve 
during the war. He entered the service as second lieutenant of 
Company B, Twenty-sixth Texas cavalry, DeBray's brigade, and 
fought at the battles of Galveston, Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Cham¬ 
bers Plantation, Natchitoches, Mansur, Yellow Bayou, and many 
other engagements along the Mississippi Kiver. 

His family was well represented in the Confederate service. 
Captain James G. Storey of San Marcos, Texas, now his only living 
brother, commanded a company in Woods'’ regiment; another 
brother. Colonel K. L. Storey, commanded a Georgia regiment, and 
his youngest brother, H. E. Storey, was a lieutenant in Terry^’s 
Texas rangers. This brother was mortally wounded at the battle 
of Shiloh and died a few days after the battle. 

Judge Storey has always taken an active part in every political 
question of importance since he was 18 years of age. He served 
in the Texas Legislature from 1873 to 1883, four years in the 
house, four years in the senate, and two years as Lieutenant-Gov¬ 
ernor during the second term of Governor Roberts’ administration. 
He held no other office after 1883 until November, 1894, when 
Governor J. S. Hogg appointed him Railroad Commissioner to fill 
the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge McLean. He was 
reappointed Commissioner by Governor Culberson, and was elected 
in November, 1900, as the Democratic nominee, for a six years’ 
term. 

On April 19, 1859, he married Miss Lou J. Ellison, a daughter 
of Colonel Jonathan Ellison, a prosperous farmer of Caldwell 
County. She is still living. They have nine living children,— 
three sons and six daughters,—all married but the youngest three 
daughters. Judge and Mrs. Storey are happily situated in the 
love and devotion of their interesting family of children, and may 
view with satisfaction the prosperous condition in life of those of 
their children who have married and left the parental home. 

Though for many years a lawyer of extensive practice. Judge 
Storey has given much attention to agricultural affairs; he has all 
his life been interested in farming and owns an excellent plantation 
near Lockhart, Texas. 

Judge Storey has given many years of service in various lines to 
his State and country, but still possessing a high order of mental 
and physical vigor, there yet remains for him promise of many 
other years of peaceful life and honorable career. 


20 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON. JOHN W. EOBBINS. 

Vernon. 

(Official Residence, Austin.) 

The Hon. John W. Bobbins, State Treasurer of the State of 
Texas, is the son of Solomon and Amanda (Funderburgh) Bob¬ 
bins, who were both natives of the State of Alabama; the father 
born in Montgomery County in .1818, and the mother in Autauga 
County, November 22, 183(5. They were married in 1849, and on 
November 12, 1852, their son, the subject of this sketch', was born 
in the county of Talladega, Alabama. In 1859 his parents came 
to Texas and settled in Smith County, where Mr. Bobbins was 
reared, receiving a good common school education, which he sup¬ 
plemented extendedly by a course of private and home study. In 
1877 he was married to Miss Sarah Long, daughter of the late 
Captain B. B. Long of Tyler, Texas. Soon thereafter, locating at 
Tyler, he engaged in contracting and building as a principal busi¬ 
ness pursuit, but also included the lines of live stock dealing and 
a general transfer business. As a member of the firm of con¬ 
tractors, Bobbins & Long, Mr. Bobbins has erected many splendid 
monuments pointing to his skill and energy and to his success as 
a business man. Of these may be mentioned the National Hotel, 
the City Hall, the North Side Public School building, and many 
others of the largest and best buildings of the city of Tyler. 
Though highly successful in a business way, on account of failing- 
health, in 1899 he removed from Tyler to west Texas, going to 
Vernon, in Wilbarger County, near which place he estal)lished a 
farm and ranch and engaged in farming and stock raising, which 
still comprises his principal business interest. 

Mr. Bobbins is a Democrat, and contributing both money and 
time, he has taken an active part in every campaign, both county 
and State, for more than twenty years. In 1894 he was elected to 
represent the 103d legislative district, composed of the counties of 
Wilbarger and Wichita, in the Twenty-fourth Legislature. Two 
years later he was again returned to the house of the Twenty-fifth 
Legislature. He served with distinction in both Legislatures and 
was regarded as an able representative. In 1898 he was elected 
to the office of State Treasurer, and being re-elected in 1900, is now 
serving his second term as State Treasurer. 

As a private citizen Mr. Bobbins is noted for his liberality and 
public spirit. He has contributed much to general enterprise and 
the upbuilding of the communities where he has resided. He is a 



IIOX. JOHX W. IJOr.BIXS, 
















J 




nON. K. M. LOVE. 














TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


21 


^Master Mason and a member of the M. E. Church South. As a 
church official he has filled the various positions of steward, 
Sunday-school superintendent, and general conference delegate. 

Mr. and Mrs. Eobbins have their home made pleasant by the 
presence of their five children, consisting of four sons and one 
daughter. At the State capital, as well as at their Vernon home, 
they enjoy the highest esteem of ail who know them. 


HON. EOBEET MAESHALL LOVE. 

Tehuacana. 

(Official Residence, Austin.) 

The Hon. Eobert Marshall Love, State Comptroller, is a native 
of Texas, born at Franklin, in Eobertson County, January 11, 1847. 
He is the son of James M. and Theresa A. (Bradon) Love, both of 
whom were born and reared in Madison County, Tennessee, of 
which county Mr. Love, Sr., was sheriff prior to his coming to 
Texas in 1836. On coming to this State he settled in Eobertson 
County, but later removed to Limestone County, settling at Tehua- 
caiM. His familiarity with the duties of the office of sheriff became 
known to the people among whom he had settled in Texas, and on 
account of which and his other recognized qualifications, he was 
called to serve them in that capacity respectively in both Eobertson 
and Limestone counties. The latter named county became his per¬ 
manent home, where, in addition to his public duties, he extensively 
engaged in farming and stock raising. He was one of that band 
of ^^Texas pioneers^^ whose firmness and sterling character were 
the foundation of the after development and prosperity of this 
State. 

The Hon. E. M. Love received his education in the common 
schools of Texas, principally at the town of Tehuacana, which 
school he left in 1862, at the age of 17, to become a Confederate 
soldier. He entered the service as a private in Company G, Sixth 
Texas regiment, Eoss^ brigade, and was with the Army of Tennessee 
from that time until the end of the war. His four older brothers, 
—James A., S. B., Cyrus, and J. W. Love,—at the first call to arms 
responded. Cyrus was killed at Farmington, Tenn.; James A. 
died at Austin, Ark., while in service; S. B. and J. W. returned 
liome after the war. J. W. was elected and served twelve years as 
sheriff of Limestone County; S. B. is now a merchant of Eichland, 
Texas. On this account, as well as that of his youth, Mr. Love, 
the subject of this sketch, did not become a soldier until a year 


22 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


later. Eeturning from the war he engaged in farming and stock 
raising in Limestone County, which has.since been his home. In 
1884 he was elected sheriff of his county and was re-elected for 
three consecutive terms thereafter. During his first term, or in 
1886, he was elected president of the Sheriffs^ Association of 
Texas, over which he continuously presided for eight years, retiring 
from its head in 1884, but still retaining membership with the 
association. In 1894 he was appointed United States marshal for 
the northern district of Texas, which office he filled for a term of 
four years. In 1900 he was nominated for the State office he now 
occupies, and at the subsequent election was returned as the officer* 
elect of this important State department. 

He was married at Moscow, Ky., January 12, 1870, to Miss Lucy 
Morgan, daughter of the late Dr. J. T. Morgan of that place. 
They have seven children; Emma, now ]\Irs. J. P. Erwin of 
Austin, Texas; James M., who is also married, and Lucy B., Euth, 
Esther, and Marian, the latter 6 3 ^ears old, still at home with their 
parents. Mr. Love is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
church, and is a Mason of the Knight Templar degree. He is a 
Democrat, and has been a conspicuous worker in both local and 
State conventions. He has had much experience in the executive 
department of both the State and Federal government, and entered 
upon the duties of his office supported by the confidence of a host 
of well-wishing friends. 


HON. CHAELES EOGAN. 

Commissioner of the General Land Office. 

The subject of this sketch was born near Eipley, Miss., February 
3, 1858. He is the son of John N. and Mary M. Eogan. His 
parents moved to Texas in 1861 and located at what is now Lexing¬ 
ton, Lee County. Immediately upon becoming domiciled in their 
new home his father joined the Confederate army, and after six 
months of military service died near Little Eock, Ark. 

Mr. Eogan was one of six students vvffio matriculated as a cadet 
at the Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1876, when it first 
opened for the reception of students. He completed the academic 
course in three years, graduating in 1879. Although a raw recruit 
when the first company of cadets was organized at the college, he 
was made an orderly sergeant, and soon thereafter, when the second 
company was organized, he was made its first lieutenant. During 
this time Cadet Eogan not only pursued his studies with great 




IIOX, CHAS. EOGAi^ 








































TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


23 


diligence, but he was devoted to duty and was a strict disciplinarian, 
and by reason of these facts was soon promoted to the captaincy 
of his company. At the opening of the second session there were 
over three hundred students in attendance at the college, and it 
became necessary to reorganize the corps of cadets into four com¬ 
panies. Captain Rogan was promoted to the position of senior cap¬ 
tain and placed in command of Company A, which put him in 
command of the battalion at drill during the absence of the com¬ 
mandant, which position he filled with great credit to himself and 
to the institution until his graduation in 1879. 

In 1881 Mr. Rogan entered Harvard University, where he took 
a two years^ course in law. Upon returning to Texas he was ad-^ 
mitted to the bar in October, 1883, at his home at Giddings. He 
located at Brownwood, January 1, 1884, and was engaged in the 
practice of his profession until he was appointed Commissioner of 
the General Land Office by Governor Joseph D. Sayers, in May, 
1899. 

Judge Rogan has always been a consistent Democrat and has 
always taken more or less interest in politics. During his resi¬ 
dence in Brownwood, which place he still claims as his home, he 
was elected prosecuting attorney of Brown County and its county 
judge for two consecutive terms. In 1890 he was elected to the 
Twenty-second Legislature, representing the counties of Brown, 
Comanche, and Mills. In 1897 he was appointed by Governor 
C. A. Culberson a member of the board of directors of the A. and 
M. College, which position he resigned by accepting the office of 
Land Commissioner in 1899. He was nominated by the Waco 
State Democratic convention in July, 1900, to succeed himself as 
Commissioner of the General Land Office, which position he now 
holds. In each of these public positions Judge Rogan has made 
a faithful and conscientious public servant, and he has made a 
record to which his friends point with considerable pride. 

In 1879 Mr. Rogan united with the M. E. Church South, and 
he was married December 1, 1885, to Miss Fannie V. Stewart, at 
Bastrop, Texas. They have four children, whose names are re¬ 
spectively Octavia Fry, James Stewart, Lena Sayers, and Mary 
Lou. 


24 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON. CHARLES K. BELL. 

Fort Worth. 

(Official Residence, Austin.) 

Charles K. Bell was born at Chattanooga, Tenn., April 18, 1853; 
was educated at Knoxville and Snwanee, Tenn.; came to Texas in 
1871, and returned to Tennessee in 1873, where he studied law and 
was admitted to the bar in 1874. He moved to Texas in 1874 and 
located at Hamilton; was elected county attorney of Hamilton 
County in 1876, district attorney' in 1880 and 1882, State senator 
in 1884, district judge in 1888, congressman in 1892 and 1894, 
and was appointed Attorney-General and qualified March 20, 1901. 


GENERAL THOMAS SCURRY. 

Dallas. 

(Official Resideuce, Austin.) 

General Thomas Scurry, Adjutant-General of Texas, is native 
to the State, born in Waller County, March 15, 1859. He is the 
son of Richardson Scurry, a native of Gallatin, Tenn., but one of 
the pioneers of Texas. He came to Texas just prior to the battle 
of San Jacinto, and as first sergeant of artillery participated in 
that engagement. He was a lawyer and was employed in regular 
professional practice till after the annexation of Texas to the 
United States. He then served one term as district judge for the 
eastern district of Texas, as the judicial districts were then ar¬ 
ranged, and retired from the bench to take a seat in the Congress 
of the United States. Later he was again district judge for one of 
the districts. He died in Waller County, Texas, in 1862. His 
wife and life companion, the mother of (General Scurry, was Mrs. 
Evantha (Foster) Scurry. She died in the city of Dallas in 1895. 

General Scurry was educated in the private schools of Houston, 
Texas. Since leaving school he has been engaged in various lines 
of occupation, involving altogether a general knowledge of business. 
He was four years in a wholesale dry goods house at Houston; was 
the next four years in the Houston & Texas Central Railroad office 
at Houston; was about three years with a compress company at 
Houston; was bookkeeper for L. T. Noyes, hardware, at Houston 
about one year; then, in 1886, engaged in the real estate and 
mortgage business on his own account, at Dallas, Texas. 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


35 


From 1880 to 1886 he was captain of the Houston Light Guar^'; 
the company taking about $30,000 in. drill prizes during that time 
in State and interstate competition drills. In 1886 his first lieu¬ 
tenant, F. A. Reichart, succeeded him as captain. Under his 
command the company retained the prestige it had gained, and on 
account of its accredited invincibility no other company wished to 
enter a drill in which the ''Guard"' were permitted to compete. 
They were for this reason accorded the high honor of being stricken 
from the roll of competitors. 

In the Spanish-American war General Scurry was appointed by 
Governor Culberson major of the First regiment, Texas volunteers. 
While peace negotiations were pending he resigned to accept the 
appointment of Adjutant-General at the hands of Governor Say¬ 
ers. He assumed the duties of this office in January, 1899, suc¬ 
ceeding General Wozencraft, and again succeeding himself by ap¬ 
pointment in 1901. He was in command at Galveston while that 
stricken district was under martial law, after the disaster of Sep¬ 
tember 8, 1900. His superior management there was largely in¬ 
strumental in the speedy restoration of order where conditions were 
naturally chaotic, and won for him the thanks of the community 
directly affected thereby and the commendation of the public at 
large. 

General Scurry is natively as well as professionally a military 
man. He has been so long identified with the State militia that 
probably no other commandant could be found more familiar with 
the organization or better capacitated for the work of its militant 
preservation. He deserves and commands the highest esteem of 
all, l;oth officers and men, composing the Texas Volunteer Guard. 
The bill introduced in the Twenty-seventh Legislature to reorganize 
the Texas ranger force was referred to him that it might be drafted 
under his suggestions, and Assistant Attorney-General Judge Reese 
accordingly prepared the same in General Scurr 5 ^"s office. He has 
also been much interested in obtaining appropriations for the sus¬ 
taining of annual encampments. 

General Scurry was married in 1896, at Dallas, Texas, to Miss 
Emma Welch Gano, daughter of General R. M. Gano of that city, 
who was one of the best officers of General John Morgan, of Con¬ 
federate fame. They have two children, a little son and daughter, 
Thomas Gano and Martha Welch Scurry. He is a member of the 
Masonic order, but from data obtained it is not known whether or 
not he belongs to any other society. 


26 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON. AETHUR LEFEVEE. 

Austin. 

Hon. Arthur Lefevre, State Superintendent of Education, en¬ 
tered upon the duties of his office on the first of July of the present 
year, having been appointed to the position by Governor Sayers to 
fill the unexpired term of the Hon. J. S. Kendall, resigned. Ho 
is a descendant of an old Huguenot family, who received a con¬ 
cession of land in Pennsylvania from the English sovereign in the 
Seventeenth century, the same being granted to the Lefevre, Du 
Bois, Ferre, and other interrelated families. He is a native of 
Baltimore, Md., born in 1863. His father. Dr. J. A. Lefevre, is a 
retired Presbyterian minister. He was for thirty-seven years pas¬ 
tor of the Franklin Square Presbyterian church, Baltimore, Md. 
On account of broken health, in 1887 he was compelled to surrender 
his charge. Dr. Lefevre and Dr. Bullock, both occupying Balti¬ 
more pulpits, held their churches in the Southern communion of 
the division caused by the Civil war, while all other churches in 
that city adhered to the Northern schism. 

Mr. Lefevre, by attending private academies and the Baltimore 
City College, prepared for a course of study at the University of 
Virginia, 1882-1885. Many years later, while instructor in mathe¬ 
matics at the University of Texas, he took the C. E. degree from 
that institution. His business and professional career from the 
day of his leaving the University of Virginia may be summarized 
as follows: In 1885, became a nrember of a mercantile firm in 
Baltimore; in 1887, went west to St. Paul, Minn., and Wichita, 
Kan.; engaged in land business and taught private school; in 1890 
returned east, but moved immediately to Texas upon a call to the 
Ball High School in Galveston, to take charge of the department 
of mathematics therein and assist in the developing of that school. 
In 1892 he accepted the superintendency of the schools of Gonzales,, 
where he was signally successful. From Gonzales, in 1894, he was 
called to the University of Texas, as instructor in mathematics. 
In 1899 he left the university and undertook the superintendency 
of the schools of Victoria, Texas, in which work he gave great 
satisfaction, and which he resigned to accept his present position. 

The esteem in which Mr. Lefevre is held by his professional 
associates was made manifest when it became known to them that 
he sought the appointment of State Superintendent of Public In¬ 
struction. He was presented by them to the Governor of the State 
as an educator eminently fitted to discharge any duty in the line 







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HON. JOHN G. TOD. 














































































































































TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


27 


of his profession; as a man and a citizen whose every word and act 
are based npon the profoundest regard for truth in its highest 
significance and as one commanding the respect and esteem of all 
who really know him. Indorsements were received by the Gov¬ 
ernor not only from Texas but from most prominent members of 
the faculties of Harvard, Yale, Cornell, University of Virginia, 
University of Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Sewanee. Testimonials 
of such volume and force and from such sources were not to be 
disregarded by the appointing power, and his friends had the 
gratification of seeing the important office committed to his charge. 

Mr. Lefevre has a family and is a member of the Presbyterian 
church. He was married in 1887 to Miss Adela Beale Yerby of 
Baltimore, descended on both sides from old Virginia families. 
They have three children—Guy, born in 1889; Arthur, born in 
1890; and Catherine, born in 1892. 


HOY. JOHN GKAXT TOD. 

Houston. 

(Official Residence, Austin.) 

The Hon. John Grant Tod, Secretary of State, was appointed to 
this office in 1901 at the beginning- of the second term of Governor 
Sayers’ administration. He was born at Kichmond, Texas, June 
14, 1864. He is the grandson of William Tod, who came from 
Scotland, near Edinburgh, about the year 1800, and with his familj 
settled near Lexington, Ky. John Grant Tod, Sr., father of the 
subject of this sketch, was born in Kentucky and was reared and 
educated in his native State. He was a naval officer and served 
with distinction in the navies of the United States, of Mexico, and 
of the Republic of Texas. The mother of Judge Tod, Mrs. Abigail 
Fisher Tod, was the daughter of James M. West of Lewes, Del. 
Her ancestors came from England to Delaware and settled there 
prior to the year 1700. 

Judge Tod received his primary education in the common schools 
of Harris County, then attended 'fale College, and was graduated 
from the law department of that institution. He began the prac¬ 
tice of law in 1885 and continued to practice till 1892, when he wi«& 
elected county judge of Harris County. He filled this office two 
terms, or until’ 1896, when he was elected district judge for the 
11th judicial district. He was on the bench when he was appointed 
by Governor Sayers to his present position. As a practitioner and 
as a jurist Judge Tod possesses an excellent reputation and is re- 


^8 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


yarded by the bar of the State as being well qualified to perform 
the duties of his important office. 

He was married at Harrisburg, Texas, June 11, 1890, to Miss 
Osceola Ella Morriss of that place. They have two children,— 
Mary Grant, aged 8, and Eosa, aged 3 years. 

Judge Tod is a Mason, belonging to both the York and Scottish 
rites of the order. He is past master of Gray lodge, past high 
priest of Washington chapter E. A. M., and past eminent com¬ 
mander of the Euthven commandery. He is also a Woodman of 
the World. 


HOY. JEFFEESOY JOHYSOY. 

Austin. 

The Hon. Jefferson Johnson, a citizen of Austin, Texas, Com¬ 
missioner of Agriculture, Insurance, Statistics and History, was 
born in Clermont County, Ohio, January 8, 1845. His ancestors 
were originally from England, but came to this country before the 
Eevolutionary war. The paternal sidv. settled in Yew Jersey; the 
maternal side settled in Yorth Carolina. His father, Benjamin 
P. Johnson, was born in Yew Jersey in 1817, and his mother, who 
was Asenath Tribble, was born April, 1823, in Ohio. His father 
died, aged 82 years, in February, 1899, in Clermont County, Ohio. 
His mother is still living there. 

Mr. Johnson was educated in the public schools of Ohio and 
more fully in the school of experience in contact with men and 
affairs. After leaving school he settled in Wilmington, Y. C., 
where he remained twelve years. He then came to Travis County, 
Texas, and settled on a plantation, where he has since resided. He is 
most emphatically a Democrat of the strictest sect of that political 
party. Mr. Johnson for four years during Governors Ireland's and 
Eoss^ administrations served as steward and secretary of the deaf 
and dumb asylum at Austin, and through Governor Hogg’s admin¬ 
istration and the greater part of Governor Culberson’s he served 
as president of the board of trustees of that institution. During 
Governor Culberson’s last term he was appointed Commissioner of 
Agriculture, Insurance, Statistics, and History, and was re¬ 
appointed by Governor Sayers both in his first and second adminis¬ 
tration. He has attended every meeting of his party from that 
of a ward to that of a delegate to the Yational convention at Chi¬ 
cago in the year 1896, from the 9th congressional district of Texas, 
that nominated Mr. Bryan the first time. He has acted as chair- 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


29 


man of the Democratic county executive committee through three 
campaigns, and the party was successful in each one of these con¬ 
tests. The first year in which he acted as county chairman the 
party elected the entire ticket, which was the first time such a vic¬ 
tory had been achieved in more than twenty years. He has also 
managed two congressional campaigns as chairman of the 9th con¬ 
gressional district. 

Jeft'erson Johnson was married to Miss Harriet E. Houston of 
Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1879. They have.the following children: 
Benjamin K., Misses Augusta, Adele, Helen, and Cornelia. He is 
a member of the Tenth Street Methodist church and president of 
the hoard of stewards. He is also a member of all the orders of 
Masonry. 


HOK JOHX SHADE TUimEK. 

Terrell. 

Dr. John S. Turner, superintendent of the Xorth Texas Hospital 
for the Insane, located at Terrell, Texas, is a native of Georgia, 
born in Sumter County, February 16, 1866. He is the son of 
Greene B. and Mrs. Mattie J. Turner, both of whom are now living 
at Cleburne, Johnson County, Texas. Dr. Turner is descended 
on both the maternal and the paternal sides from old American 
families whose names appear conspicuously in the early history of 
our country, notably General Xathaniel Greene of Eevolutionary 
fame on the one side, and the Webster family, from whom his 
mother is directly descended, on the other side. 

In 1868, when he was but 2 years old, his parents removed from 
Georgia to Texas and located on a farm five miles east of Cleburne,. 
Johnson County. This became their permanent home, and there 
and in that vicinity their son. Dr. Turner, was reared and educated. 
After leaving school he studied medicine and was graduated from 
the Louisville Medical College, Louisville, Ky., in 1889. He began 
the practice of medicine at Stephensville, Erath County, and re¬ 
mained there from 1889 to 1892, when he removed to Granbury,. 
Hood Count}^ Texas. There he practiced his profession until he 
was appointed assistant superintendent of the Southwestern Insane- 
Asylum at San Antonio, Texas, February 2, 1897. He remained at 
that institution until he was elected to and accepted his present 
I)Osition, superintendent of the North Texas Hospital for the In¬ 
sane, which occurred July 7, 1900. 

Dr. Turner was married March 14, 1885, to Miss Mattie High- 


30 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


tower of Johnson County. They have three daughters: Eula, 
aged 14 years; Bess, aged 11 years, and Kate, aged 6 years. They 
have two sons dead. The family are attendants of the M. E. 
Church South, of which Dr. Turner is a member. He is also a 
Mason, a Knight of Pythias, and a Woodman of the World. 

Dr. Turner is a Democrat, but his being placed at the head of 
this institution is due to his recognized efficiency and not on ac¬ 
count of political prestige. 


HOK. THORNTOK R. BOWMAK. 

Corsicana. 

The Hon. Thornton H. Bowman, at present superintendent of 
the State Orphan Home, Corsicana, is a native of Clinton, La. 
He is descended both paternally and maternally from old Southern 
families of the Carolinas. His father, James Bowman, prior to 
the war, was a wealthy slaveowner and Louisiana planter, and 
was a leading Secession Democrat of that State. 

Mr. Bowman was educated at the Southern University of Ala¬ 
bama, and also took a law course at the same institution. In 
1870 he came to Texas, locating at Belton, where he taught school 
for several years. Later, however, he removed to Howard County 
and there served in the office of county attorney, and was after¬ 
wards county judge for two terms. He is a Democrat, and his 
activity as a party worker soon brought him to public recognition. 
For seven years prior to the second administration of Governor 
Roberts he was chief clerk in the department of state. He was 
then appointed Secretary of State by Governor Roberts and served 
as such to the end of Roberts’ administration. In 1899 he was 
appointed by Governor Sayers superintendent of the State Orphan 
Home at Corsicana, which position he now holds. 

Judge Bowman enlisted as a private in Company A, Wirt Adams’ 
regiment, Mississippi volunteers, C. S. A., when he was but 17 
years of age, and was in active service until he was permanently 
disabled and resigned with the rank of first lieutenant. He is 
married and has a family of six children, three boys and three girls. 
His wife, Mrs. Bowman, was formerly Miss Mollie J. Tibant of 
Austin, Texas. His family are attendants of the Methodist Epis¬ 
copal church South, of which he is a consistent member, and in 
which he has filled the offices of steward, trustee, and Sunday- 
school superintendent, and was at one time a member of the board 
of trustees of Southwestern University at Georgetown, Texas. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


31 


HON. L. L. FOSTER. 

College Station. 

The Hon. L. L. Foster, president of the Agricultural and 
Mechanical College of Texas, is a native of Georgia, born near 
Cummings, Forsythe County, November 27, 1851. His earlier 
education was obtained at a private school in north Georgia, but 
was interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil war, which practically 
closed the schools of the South. After the war at the age of 18, 
with a like ambitious spirit to that of many others of the youth of 
that country, he resolved to come west and make his way in life 
as a citizen of the newer land of Texas. He was not an exception 
to the class of young men of the period whose circumstances and 
prospects financially had been changed by the results of the Civil 
war. When he reached Texas he was but poorly equipped with 
funds, but he had the physical strength of robust youth and the 
judgment and energy necessary to convert it into capital. This 
he did by doing whatever was presented to his hand, whether 
it chanced to be ordinary farm labor or mechanical work, 
farming or building, picking cotton, or laying stone or brick, 
■—any and all kinds of honest work, the remuneration for which 
would give to him the start in life that should lead him to inde¬ 
pendent manhood and citizenship. He first located at Horn Hill, 
Limestone County, and soon accumulated sufficient means to enable 
him to carry out his original purpose of obtaining a collegiate edu¬ 
cation. To this end he entered the Waco University and there 
received that acquaintance with letters which enables him at this 
day to preside over one of our leading State educational institu¬ 
tions. After leaving college, in 1873, he went to Groesbeck, wherp 
ho later, in 1876, as editor and proprietor, founded and established 
the Limestone New Era, a newspaper which soon grew into State¬ 
wide popularity. From this point begins his public career, which 
has been notably one of reciprocative character, as the term signi¬ 
fies duty faithfully performed meeting the recognition of public 
appreciation. Summarized, his official life may be given as fol¬ 
lows: In 1880 he was elected to the Seventeenth Legislature to 
represent Limestone County in the house; in 1882, elected to rep¬ 
resent in the Eighteenth Legislature the 62d legislative district, 
composed of Falls, McLennan, and Limestone counties; in 188-1, 
again elected to represent that district in the Nineteenth Legisla¬ 
ture, at which term he was made speaker of the house of repre¬ 
sentatives, and had the distinction of being the youngest man ever 


32 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


elected to that position in the Texas Legislature. He was ap¬ 
pointed Commissioner of Insurance, Statistics, and History by 
Governor Eoss, and after the four years of his administration he 
was appointed in 1891 by Governor Hogg to serve on the newly 
created Eailroad Commission, which office he subsequently vacated 
to become vice-president and general manager of the Velasco Ter¬ 
minal Eailway. In 1899 he was elected president of the A. and M. 
College, which position he now holds. 

Mr. Foster's record speaks for itself and is highly commendatory 
of the man who step by step has advanced from the place of a 
difficult beginning through various stations to the honorable posi¬ 
tion he now occupies. 

He was married at Groesbeck, Texas, January 2, 1875, to Miss 
Laura Pender of that place. They have seven children: Joseph 
Lumkin, Walter Drew, Edna, Henry Iveson, Jacob Lawson, Mary, 
and May Alma, all of whom have passed the days of youthful 
childhood. He is a member of the Baptist church and is a promi¬ 
nent Mason. 


HOX. ISAAC PEASE KIBBE. 

Victoria. 

The Hon. Isaac P. Kibbe, Fish and Oyster Commissioner of 
Texas, was born in Coose County, Xew Hampshire, April 12, 
1846. His ancestors were among the first Puritan families who 
settled in New England, where they and their descendants lived 
until the middle of the last century. His parents, George G. 
Kibbe and Mrs. Hannah (Hunt) Kibbe, moved to Mississippi 
early after his birth, in 1846, but in 1850 they left that State 
and came to Texas, settling at Victoria. In 1851, when Mr. 
Kibbe was in his fifth year, he lost both of his parents, and thus 
in helpless childhood was left doubly orphaned to make his way 
in life alone. He was raised at Port Lavaca, where he began 
earning his livelihood at that tender age, making dimes by run¬ 
ning errands, afterwards assisting as shipping clerk and working 
at any odd jobs that would bring him a dollar. At intervals he 
attended school, in all about eleven months, at different sessions 
or terms, extending over a period of ten years. He was now in 
his seventeenth year, at which age, in January, 1862, he entered 
the Confederate service as a member of Company A, Waller's bat¬ 
talion, Green's brigade, enlisting at Victoria, Texas. He was a 
private, and immediately after reaching the field of active service 



HON. I. P. KIBBE 















TKXAy OFFICIALS. 


33 


lie was assigned to the dangerous duty of scouting, and performed 
that military service principally throughout the war. He took 
part in the Louisiana campaigns; was at the capture of the 
Diana, on the Teche; was in the battle of Chaneyville; was at 
Brashier City, and was detailed cn special scouting duty in Ar¬ 
kansas. He was wounded in the fight at Brashier City, but after 
leaving the hospital and having sufficiently recovered his strength, 
he re-entered the service and remained until the close of the v/ar. 
In connection with his record as a Confederate soldier, it may be 
mentioned here that he was elected captain and commandant of 
the H. H. Boon Camp United Confederate Veterans, at Goliad. 
He attends and takes part in most of the Confederate reunions. 

After the war he returned to his home in Victoria and for a 
time was clerk and afterwards manager of a general store, but 
on account of bad health he was forced to abandon this employ¬ 
ment. He had purchased an interest in a large schooner engaged 
in the lighter business, and he now took charge of it as its captain, 
in 1870 he became interested in and became the manager of a 
wholesale and retail lumber business at Victoria, where he re¬ 
mained until 1889. From 1878 to the latter date, or for a period 
of eleven years, he was connected with the municipal government 
of Victoria at different times in the respective capacities of alder¬ 
man and mayor. In 1889 he moved to Goliad and established a 
lumber business on a large scale, operating at Goliad and at other 
points, in which business he remained until 1894, when he was 
appointed by Governor Culberson State Fish and Oyster Com¬ 
missioner. 

During his entire life Mr. Ivibbe has been noted as an enter¬ 
prising, public-spirited citizen, always working for the good of 
the community of his residence. Especially has he been a zealous 
worker in the line of establishing good schools and for the gen¬ 
eral advancement of education. In this he has been actuated by 
his personal knowledge of the necessity of an education growing 
out of his own lack of early opportunities. In the early seventies 
he was one of the active promoters and stockholders, besides 
being secretary, of the Victoria I'air Association, which was at 
that time one of the most successful undertakings of its kind in 
the State. 

^Ir. Ivibbe was married in De AYitt County, June 19, 1872, to 
Miss Sallie Frances Carpenter. Her father was of English and 
her mother of Scotch-Irish descent, but they were both natives of 
Virginia. They removed from that State to Alabama prior to the 
Civil war and remained in Alabama until 1869, when they came 
to Texas and settled in De Witt County. Mr. and Mrs. Kibbe 

3—Gov’t. 


34 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


have children as follows: Irvin, a stockman; Frank W., assistant 
bookkeeper in the State Treasury department; Louis G., railroad 
auditing clerk; William J., student at Austin College, Sherman; 
Isaac S., Preston F., and Euth. The last three are children. 

Mr. Kibbe is a Democrat and has always been an inveterate 
worker for his party. He is an elder in the Presbyterian church, 
and is a Mason, a Knight of Pythias, and belongs to the Ancient 
Order of United Workmen. 

The importance of the fish and oyster industry and trade, botl\ 
as a source of home convenience and of State revenue, has until 
within recent years been overlooked and passed unrecognized as 
one of the items helping to constitute the aggregate wealth of 
our State. Recently, however, attention has been directed to the 
possibilities of fish and oyster culture in Texas, and it is due in 
no small way to the persistent efforts of Mr. Kibbe in this direc¬ 
tion that this industry is now being given prominent notice. He 
has been the promoter of several mammoth companies organized 
for the purpose of entering into the cultivation and sale of oys¬ 
ters, as a result of which some large fish and oyster canning fac¬ 
tories have been constructed and put in operation, while others 
are in course of construction, along the Texas coast. He has held 
his office continuously by appointment since his first incumbency 
under Governor Culberson. Mr. Kibbe has devoted much time 
to the cultivation of oysters, and is doubtless the best authority 
in the State on the fish and oyster industry. 


HOK. JOE LEE JAMESON. 

Austin. 

The Hon. Joe Lee Jameson, the present efficient incumbent of 
the office of State Revenue Agent, is now serving his second term, 
having been appointed to the position by Governor Jos. D. Sayers 
in 1899, and again at the beginning of the second term of Governor 
Sayers reappointed. Mr. Jameson is of Scotch descent. His an¬ 
cestors were loyal to the house of Stuart, the ^^Pretender,^^ and 
when the fortunes of that claimant to the crown were overthrown, 
the lands and estates of his followers were confiscated. Many of 
these sought homes in other lands, among them the Jamesons, who 
came to America. Their coming to this country was prior to the 
Revolution, and Benjamin Jameson stands at the head of the 
American family ancestral line. He settled in Virginia, and there 









1 




TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


35 


K'ared a family before the war for American independence, and 
his son, John, was a colonel in the Continental army. To this 
Colonel John Jameson Major Andre, the British spy, was delivered 
by his captors when Benedict Arnold attempted the betrayal of his 
country. John Jameson’s eldest son, Samuel, was a member of the 
General Assembly of Virginia, and Samuel’s eldest son, Jehu Reece, 
was the only survivor of the Seminole massacre. David Murrell 
Jameson was the eldest son of Jehu Reece, and was born among 
the Creek Indians. He was the grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch. He first settled in Tennessee, but later removed to Mis¬ 
souri and located as a permanent resident near the town of Marsh¬ 
field. He served several terms in the Legislature of that State, and 
at the old Marshfield home both the son, William Franklin, and 
his son, Joe Lee Jameson, were born. 

William Franklin Jameson was married to Melissa King; they 
were both born at Marshfield, Mo. In 1877 they came to Texas, 
where Mr. Jameson, the father of the subject of this sketch, has 
since resided and engaged in agricultural pursuits. 

The Hon. Joe Lee Jameson after leaving school went to Mc¬ 
Lennan County and established an abstract of title office, and 
also served as deputy county clerk. Later he was appointed stew¬ 
ard and bookkeeper of the Southwestern Insane Asylum at San 
Antonio. After serving seven years in that position he resigned to 
accept the secretaryship of the Sayers central campaign committee, 
with headquarters at Austin. When the State Democratic con¬ 
vention at Galveston, by acclamation, nominated the Hon. Joseph 
D. Sayers for Governor, Mr. Jameson was also unanimously selected 
as secretary of the State Democratic executive committee. 

While acting as State Revenue Agent he was appointed by the 
Twenty-sixth Legislature one of the members of the “tax com¬ 
mission of Texas,” and was elected and served as secretary of that 
board. He has attended every minor and State convention of his 
party held since he reached his majority. Mr. Jameson has made 
a very exhaustive financial report, embracing the first two years of 
his official work, in which are to be found many valuable sugges¬ 
tions along the line of needed legislation. 

He was happily married to Miss Amaryllis Routh of Moody, 
Texas, March 25, 1891. His son, Malcolm Routh Jameson, was 
born December 21, 1891, and his daughter, Vida, born July 3, 
1892, died November 15, 1900. 

He is a member of Anchor lodge A. F. and A. M. of San An¬ 
tonio; is exalted ruler of Austin lodge No. 201, Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks; is a member of the National Bookkeep- 


3G 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


ers’ Association ; is a director in the Southwestern Society of Ac¬ 
countants, and also of the Texas Association of Accountants and 
Bookkeepers, and chairman of the legislative committee of the 
Texas division Travelers’ Protective Association. 


HON. SAMUEL HAELAX. 

Austin. 

The Hon. Samuel Harlan, residing at Austin, Texas, has served 
two years under the administration of Governor Sayers as Super¬ 
intendent of Public Buildings and Grounds, and under reappoint¬ 
ment for a second term is now filling that position. He was born 
x\ugust 6, 186(), at Galveston, Texas. His ancestors were from 
Scotland and Ireland. Samuel D. Harlan, his father, was born 
in Ohio in 1830, and died at Waukesha, Mich., August 14, 1887. 
His mother, who is still living and residing in Austin, was before 
her marriage to his father Sarah Martha McGregor. 

Mr. Harlan was educated at Centenary Collegiate Institute, 
Hackettstown, X. J. He is a Democrat, and has attended every 
State convention for the last ten years. 

Impressed by daily observation of the great need, Mr. Harlan, 
no less from a citizen’s than from an official standpoint, is an 
earnest advocate of sufficient appropriations to beautify the capitol 
grounds, as well as the grounds of all other State institutions. On 
account of restricted money in this as well as limitations in other 
instances demanding an increase of expenditure, ^Ir. Harlan favors 
a constitutional convention. 

Mr. Harlan was married to Miss Annie Mattingly on March H), 
1889, in Austin, Texas. They have three children,—Sam, aged 10 
years; Sarah M., aged 6; and Hunter H., aged 4 years. Mr. Har¬ 
lan is a Mason. It is only fair to say that he has made a most 
excellent official and has utilized the small appropriations at his 
command most effectually in the improvement of the capitol 
grounds. 


HOX. EMERY S. HUGHES. 
Austin. 


The Hon. Em. S. Hughes, State Expert Printer, was born at 
Rockford, Ill., in 1852, but was reared principally in Missouri. 
His father, Thomas Hughes, was a prominent stock raiser, who 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


37 


lived the greater part of his life iu Missouri, but prior to his death 
removed to Kansas, and is buried at Mound City. His mother, 
Mrs. Jane A. Hughes, prior to her marriage, was Miss Jane A. 
Bond. She is a native of Ohio; is still living, and resides at Mound 
Cit}", Kan. 

Mr. Hughes received his primary education in the common 
schools, hut this has been supplemented to a great degree by home 
study and through the facilities afforded by his profession. 

In 1872, before he had reached the age of 21, he left his home 
in western Missouri and came on horseback to Texas. His mount 
was an ordinary 'Tow pony'" of the period—an animal small and 
wiry and less imposing in appearance than his successor of the 
present day. His first permanent stop in Texas was at Austin, 
and though his business has since caused him temporarily to reside 
at Galveston, M aco, and San Antonio, he has always claimed Austin 
as his home. Before coming to Texas he had learned the business 
of printing, and though young, proved himself to be a practical 
printer of ability. From that time to the present he has never been 
unemployed, and by reason of his expertness as a printer and his 
reliability as an employe, in whom the utmost confidence could 
be reposed, he has always commanded a high salary. Though very 
liberally inclined toward charity and all public enterprises and 
causes calling for public and private aid, yet he has been frugal, 
and by the thrift which waits upon good judgment he has acquired 
a fair competence. His savings have been invested principally in 
a splendid ranch locateci on the Colorado Biver about fifteen miles 
northwest from Austin, which he has well stocked with horses, 
mules, cattle, and hogs. For the protection of his stock interest 
some years ago Mr. Hughes was instrumental in organizing "The 
Colorado River Live Stock Protective Association,"" of which he 
was the secretary and principal executive officer. This organiza¬ 
tion included in its membership the largest and wealthiest stock 
owners of central Texas, and by the activity of its agents it proved 
itself a terror to stock thieves and has been the means of sup¬ 
pressing much crime. 

Since the time when Mr. Hughes participated in the "capitol 
war,"" which brought about the retirement of Governor Davis, that 
he might be Kgally succeeded by Governor Coke, up to the pres¬ 
ent, he has been recognized as an active worker in the ranks of the 
Democratic party. 

He was married in 1882 to Miss Selma Bastian, daughter of one 
of Austin"s old and honored citizens. In the professional career of 
Mr. Hughes he has filled nearly every position belonging to the 
printing business from "devil"" in a country weekly to managing 


38 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


editor of a large daily; from position at the case to foreman and 
superintendent of some of the largest job printing offices in Texas. 
He is a member of the Typographical Union and has filled every 
office pertaining to the working of the organization. Though too 
young to serve as a soldier in the Civil war, he served, when but 
a mere lad, as a scout for General Custer from Fort Dodge and 
Fort Hayes, Kan., and in the Indian Territory. As a professional 
and a business man he has been successful, and is regarded in his 
community as a useful citizen. He was elected to the office of 
State Expert Printer in January, 1901, and is making one of the 
most efficient officers that has ever occupied that position. 

HOK. K. A. CPAVENS. 

Austin. 

(Governor's Private Secretary.) 

The Hon. K. A. Cravens, Governors Private Secretary, was born 
at Franklin, La., September 9, 1854. His father, the Eev. K. A. 
Cravens, was a native of Kentucky, and his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth 
C. (Goodwin) Cravens, was born and reared in the State of Indi¬ 
ana. His father was a Methodist minister, and in obedience to 
ministerial duties was called to reside at different times in the 
several States of Kentucky, Alabama, Texas, and Louisiana. 
Neither of his parents are now living. 

Judge Cravens was educated at Homer College, Homer, La. He 
studied for the profession of law, and being admitted to the bar 
in 1876, he practiced continuously till January, 1899, excepting 
six years official service as county judge of Montgomery County, 
Texas. Since his coming to Texas in 1874 he has been an active 
participant in the workings of the Democratic party and has rarely 
failed to attend its various local, district, and State conventions. 
He was chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic executive 
committee for nearly twenty years prior to the year 1899, and was 
chairman of the 1st congressional district for two years, 1884-’86. 
He was a member of the house of representatives in both the 
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Texas Legislatures, serving his con¬ 
stituency in that capacity with ability for the four years termi¬ 
nating at the general election of 1886, at which time he was elected 
county judge of IMontgomery County. He served three terms, or 
six years, as county judge, after which time he resumed the prac¬ 
tice of his profession. In 1899 he was appointed by Governor 


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HON. W. F. BLUNT^ M. D. 


















TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


39 


Sayers to the position of Private Secretary, which he has since 

mied. 

Judge Cravens was married September 25, 1878, in Houston, 
Texas, to Miss Mary E. Mather. Her father, the late Edmund 
Mather, was a native of England, who in early life came to Hous¬ 
ton, Texas, and who was identified with many of the enterprises 
tending toward the development and prosperity of that city. He 
was prominently known as a business man. Before and during 
the Civil war he was a member of the firm of T. W. House & Co. of 
Houston. His wife, the mother of Mrs. Cravens, was formerly 
Miss Lulu Huddleston. She w'as born and reared in Virginia, but 
after the removal of her family to Texas she was married to Mr. 
Mather at La Grange, in this State. 

Judge and Mrs. Cravens have a family of children consisting of 
six daughters and two sons, all living. They are attendants of 
the M. E. church, of which Judge Cravens is a consistent member, 
and which he has served in the various official capacities of Sunday- 
school superintendent, steward, and trustee. 


DE. WALTEK F. BLUNT. 

Lockhakt. 

(Official Residence, Austin.) 

Dr. Walter F. Blunt, State Health Officer, and Surgeon-General 
of the Texas Volunteer Guard, with rank of colonel, was born in 
Southampton County, Virginia, in 1836. His grandfather. Dr. 
Samuel Blunt, was a noted physician of that section of Virginia. 
He had three sons, one of whom, Simon Frazier Blunt, was com¬ 
missioned as lieutenant in the United States navy at the age of 14, 
by the President of the United States, for bravery displayed by him 
in suppressing the Nat Turner negro insurrection in Southampton 
County about the year 1835. Lieutenant Blunt married Miss 
Helen Key, daughter of Francis Scott Key, who wrote the “Star- 
Spangled Banner.^' He died at his post of duty as a naval officer. 
Another son, Samuel Blunt, married Miss Mason, of the noted 
Mason family of Petersburg, Va. The third brother, Walter F. 
Blunt, father of the subject of this sketch, was married to Miss 
Argyre Harrison, mother of Dr. Blunt and daughter of James J. 
Harrison of Brunswick County, Virginia, where she was born and 
reared. Walter F. Blunt, Sr., died when he was but 21 years of 
age, and though thus cut down in the first days of youthful man¬ 
hood, he had already gained public recognition as a rising young 


40 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


statesman, and was a candidate for a seat in Congress from his 
district at the time of his death. He was born and lived and died 
in Southampton County, Virginia. Dr. BlunCs mother, who sur¬ 
vived many years, is buried at Portsmouth, Va. 

Dr. Blunt was educated at Roanoke Academy, Brunswick, Va. 
He studied medicine before the war, but did not graduate until 
1874, after he had come to Texas and had attended the Galveston 
Medical College. In 1860, prior to the war and after his marriage, 
he left A^irginia and became a citizen of Missouri. He had been 
a resident of that State more than a year when on his way to enlist 
with a company of Confederate recruits from Missouri, he was 
captured and confined in Gratiot Street prison, St. Louis, Mo., 
until about the close of the war. Immediately after receiving his 
medical degree at Galveston, March 16, 1874, he was elected city 
physician of that city and served in this capacity four years. In 
1875 he was appointed quarantine officer of Galveston, which 
position he held until 1897, when he resigned. In 1898 he was 
appointed State Health Officer by Governor Culberson to fill the 
unexpired term occasioned by the death of Dr. R. M. Swearingen. 
He was again appointed by Governor Sayers at the beginning of 
his first administration and reappointed by him for his second 
term. 

He was married at Portsmouth, Ya., to Miss Freddie S. Peete, 
daughter of Dr. George W. Peete, at that time a surgeon of the 
United States navy. She died the last year of the war at Hunts¬ 
ville, Mo., where she is buried. The children of this marriage are: 
Annie P., now the wife of William A. Zeigler of Galveston, and a 
son, Fred T. Blunt, also living in that city. Their oldest son, 
Willie, was swept away by the tidal wave in 1875 at the quarantine 
station at Galveston with his grandfather, Dr. Peete, then quaran¬ 
tine officer of that city, and in whose place Dr. Blunt was appointed. 
His second marriage was with Miss Dora G. Huff of Caldwell 
County, Texas. The children born to them are: Florence, now 
Mrs. Alva Jordan of Lockhart; Miss Rosa McDonald, Charles Har¬ 
rison, Walter F., and Leonard S., who are at home with their 
parents. Dr. Blunt is a member of the Presbyterian Church, of 
which he and his family are attendants. 

Officially Dr. Blunt is regarded as a strict constructionist in 
quarantine matters, holding out for the most rigid enforcement 
of restrictions necessary to protect the public health. He is pre¬ 
eminent for his practical knowledge of infectious diseases and 
quarantine methods. He was quarantine officer of Galveston, ex¬ 
cepting short intervals, for twenty-two years, and during that long 
period it is not known that a single ease of infectious disease passed 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


41 


through his quarantine. As State Health Officer he has continued 
this policy, regardless of the opinion of others. This has occasioned 
criticism, but in answer to it he can point to the continuous health 
of the State as a justification of his views. 

Two of the most notable incidents of Dr. Blunt’s administration 
ure the smallpox epidemic at Laredo and the quarantine against 
San Francisco on account of bubonic plague. From November, 
1898, to March, 1899, smallpox had prevailed as an epidemic at 
Laredo, notwithstanding the efforts of the local authorities. The 
citizens then appealed to the State for help. Dr. Blunt took charge 
on the 16th of March. The ignorant Mexican population resisted 
by force the necessary sanitary measures, making it necessary to 
call for troops to enforce his authority, which were furnished by 
Governor Sayers, and what at one time threatened to become a 
bloody riot was speedily suppressed. Although there were seven 
or eight hundred actual cases of the disease when he took control, 
and almost the entire population had been exposed, his measures 
were so succcessful that in nine weeks there was not a case remain¬ 
ing, and no smallpox has occurred there since that time. 

Bubonic plague was declared by the city board of health of San 
Francisco May 19, 1900, but its existence was strenuously denied 
by the State board of health, the Governor of California, the 
daily press, and those commercially interested of San Francisco. 
By a personal visit Dr. Blunt assured himself of the truth of its 
existence, and notwithstanding the most severe pressure was 
brought against him from many authoritative and influential 
sources, supported by the Governor, he maintained his quarantine, 
until finally the Federal government sent a commission of experts 
to investigate the facts, wlio upon investigation fully sustained 
Dr. Blunt and those supporting his position. The Federal gov¬ 
ernment then took supervision of the necessary sanitary measures 
to suppress the disease. It is considered by many that had it not 
been for Dr. Blunt’s determined attitude the facts would have 
been covered up until an epidemic of this dreadful disease would 
have occurred. 


DR. I. J. JOXES. 

Austin. 

Dr. Isaac Jarrett Jones, assistant to the State Health Officer, 
is a native of the State of Arkansas, born in Clark County, No¬ 
vember 22, 1864. He is a son of the late Dr. Alfred Jones, a native 
of Hardeman County, Tennessee, who in boyhood removed to 


42 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Arkansas, where he spent the remainder of his life, and Mrs. Jane 
Poindexter (Clingman) Jones, who was born and reared in Ar¬ 
kansas, where she is still living. Kis father is descended from an 
ancestor of his name who colonized and settled Jones Valley, Ala. 
His mother is a niece of General Thomas L. Clingman of North 
Carolina, and is related to the Poindexter family of that State. 

Dr. Jones received his medical cdncation by a thorough course 
in the medical department of the Arkansas State University,, 
graduating in 1889. He soon thereafter went to Bolivar County, 
Mississippi, and forming a partnership with Dr. John B. Pease, 
he entered upon the practice of his profession. This partnership 
continued two years, after which Dr. Jones came to Texas, and in 
January, 1894, located in Austin, where he has since continuously 
resided. He was- appointed surgeon to the Texas Confederate 
Home in February, 1895, holding that position for four years. 
In 1899 he was made assistant to Dr. W. F. Blunt, State Health 
Officer, in which official capacity he has since been engaged. 

While a citizen of Mississippi Dr. Jones was chairman of the 
Democratic executive committee of Bolivar County, and in 1899 
and 1900 he was chairman of the Democratic executive committee 
of Travis County, Texas. During the latter official work he wa& 
confronted by numerous difficulties growing out of local party 
schisms and personal political differences. These questions he met 
with a firmness of decision that finally restored the former harmony 
of the county Democracy. 

Dr. Jones was married in Bolivar County, Mississippi, in 1893, 
to Miss Maidee B. Payne. They have four children: Ruth, aged 
7 years; Camille, aged 6 years; Alfred Payne, aged 4 years, and 
Isaac Jarrett, Jr., aged 14 months. He is a Mason and a Knight 
of Pythias; is past chancellor of the latter named order. He is 
a member of the American Medical Association, and State Medf- 
cal Association of Texas; life member of the Mississippi State 
Medical Association; vice-president of the Association of Health 
Officers of Texas, and member of various local societies. 


DR. THOMAS JEFFERSON McFARLAND. 


Port Lavaca. 

Dr. Thomas J. McFarland, member of the State health depart¬ 
ment, and station quarantine officer at Port Lavaca, Texas, has 
filled that important office since 1887. He is a native of Alabama; 
born in Green Count}^ July 1, 1839. His father, G. D. McFa^r- 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


4 a 

land, was a Georgian by birth, but on reaching manhood he went 
from that State to Alabama and was there married to Miss Mary 
Poe, mother of Dr. McFarland. He later removed to Mississippi, 
where, as a prominent cotton planter, he spent the remainder of 
his life. Here he reared his family of children, composed of two 
sons and three daughters, of which the subject of this sketch, his 
brother and one sister are living. Dr. McFarland and his brother, 
who is now a Mississippi planter, were both soldiers in the Con¬ 
federate army and fought for ^‘^Southern rights^^ until the close 
of hostilities in 1865. 

Dr. McFarland was educated in part at Jonesboro University, 
Alabama, taking a later course at Fannin University, Mississippi. 
After leaving college he read medicine at Jackson, Miss., his pre¬ 
ceptor being the distinguished surgeon and physician. Dr. M. S. 
Craft of that city. He attended lectures in Hew Orleans, first at 
the Medical University, now Tulane University, and later was 
graduated from the Hew Orleans School of Medicine. He was a 
medical officer in the Confederate army. After the war he came 
to Texas, locating in Galveston County, and from 1867 to 1870 he 
practiced his profession in Galveston, Brazoria, and Fort Bend 
counties. From 1870 to 1874 he practiced in Fannin County, but 
in the latter year he returned to the coast, locating at Indianola 
and Port Lavaca, where he has since remained. Soon after going 
to Indianola he was appointed United States marine hospital sur¬ 
geon at that port in 1883, continuing in that service as well as 
doing a general practice until the hurricane of 1886 destroyed 
that place, after which the marine hospital service was discontinued. 
As a soldier in the Confederate army he enlisted in Hew Orleans in 
1863; was assigned to hospital duty in the Army of Tennessee; 
was made a member of the field operating corps of the army, which 
existed the latter years of the war, and was called to be on the 
field of battle and take charge of all heavy surgery requiring 
prompt and immediate attention. He remained in that department 
of service till the close of the war, and was on all the battlefields 
growing out of the Tennessee and Georgia campaigns. 

He is a member of the Baptist church and a prominent Mason. 
He was married in Mississippi in 1864 to Miss Caroline Pauline 
Jayne, a most highly accomplished lady. She was educated in the- 
Central Female Institute of Clinton, Miss., where she took lessons 
six years in music under a German teacher. Her grandparents 
were natives of England. They were descendants of Oliver Crom¬ 
well. When they came to the United States they settled at Long 
Island, Hew York, where her father was born. In his early man¬ 
hood he moved to Alabama, where he was married; later he moved 



44 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


to Mississippi, where he was engaged in the banking business. He 
was a member of the State Legislature in 1837. He moved to 
Austin, Texas, in 1840, and in 1842 was killed by the Indians in 
the suburbs of the city, at which time his oldest son was captured 
and carried away by the Indians and was never afterAvard heard 
from. 

Dr. McFarland has reared an interesting family of seven sons 
and daughters, nearly all of whom have reached tlie age of ma¬ 
turity and are well established in life. His oldest son, iVlarion 
Minter, whose home is at Port Lavaca, is a commercial traveler; 
his second son, Thomas Carlyle, is a journalist and editor at Vic¬ 
toria, Texas, and his third son, Yan Earl, is a physician located 
at Eagle Pass, Texas. He has one daughter living in Yew Mex¬ 
ico; the other three live at Port Lavaca. 

Dr. McFarland, aside from his professional worth, is noted in 
his community for liberality in the line of public spirit, and com¬ 
mands that social esteem which is usually allotted to a skillful and 
popular physician. 


DP. WLLLIA.M E. PUGH. 


Eockport 

Dr. William E. Pugh, member of the State quarantine depart¬ 
ment, stationed at Eockport, Texas, is a resident physician of that 
city. He is a native of Ashley (Jounty, Arkansas. His parents, 
Green W. Pugh and Mrs. Albena (Low) Pugh, were of Welsh de¬ 
scent and were originally from the State of Georgia, but they were 
married in Alabama and removed from that State to Mississippi, 
and later, in 1850, they emigrated to Arkansas, AAUich became 
their permanent home for the remainder of their lives. 

Dr. Pugh was graduated from the medical department of the 
University of Louisville, in Louisville, Ky., in 1881. He located 
in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, and lived there and practiced 
medicine until 1889, Avhen he moved to Texas, since which time 
he has been in the practice of medicine at Eockport, Texas. He 
has kept in line with advanced practitioners by noting every newly 
discovered principle pertaining to his profession. He took a post¬ 
graduate course at Tulane University, 1889-'90; also took lectures 
at the New Orleans Polyclinic in 1890, and thereafter attended 
lectures at his alma mater in 1897 and 1898. 

’ In early life Dr. Pugh acquired a competency, Avhich by industry, 
‘economy, honesty, and strict business habits he has enlarged into a 


TEXAS OFEIGIALS. 


45^ 


considerable fortune, having extensive farming interests in Louisi¬ 
ana, besides owning much real estate in Texas. He was married 
in Bastrop, La., in 1883 to Miss Louisa Dunn, daughter of the 
late Captain C. Z. Dunn, a prominent Louisiana lawyer of that 
place. They have one daughter. Miss Lizzie Pugh, aged about 14 
years. Dr. Pugh is a Mason (past master) and is a Knight of 
Pythias. Being a loyal Democrat and professionally qualified for 
the position, he was appointed in 1895 by Governor Culberson 
State quarantine o.dicer for the Aransas Pass station. He has 
since under the suceeding State administrations held that position^ 
rendering efficient service as a member of the State health depart¬ 
ment. 


DP. ARTHLR LKP TAC'KABKKKY. 

Sabine Pass. 

Dr. A. L. Tackaberry, member of the quarantine department of 
Texas, is the resident official of that department at Sabine Pass. 
He is a native of Texas, born at Moscow, in Polk County, March 
1874. He is the son of Mr. S. B. and i\Irs. Ellen M. Tackaberry, 
and is one of their family of eight children, consisting of four 
daughters and four sons. The four sons, including Dr. Tacka¬ 
berry, the subject of this sketch, are all citizens of Texas. Hi's 
brother, M. Tackaberry, is a prominent lumberman engaged in the 
sawmill business at Lima, on the H. E. & W. T. Railway ; another 
brother, J. V. Tackaberry, is a practicing lawyer of Houston,. 
Texas; his third brother, C. G. Tackaberr}^ is engaged in the min¬ 
ing liusiness, and though his home is in Texas, he is president of 
the Isabel mine, located near Canyon City, in Colorado. Of hfs 
sisters, one is living in Ohio and the other three in Texas. His 
father lives and practices law at Moscow, Texas, and is the brother- 
in-law of Judge A. T. Watts, formerly of Dallas, now of Beaumont, 
Texas. 

After completing his literary course at Waco, Texas, he attended 
the medical schools at Xew Orleans, Philadelphia, and Xew York. 
Graduating in 1896, he returned to Texas and was two years at the 
Houston Iiihrmary, Houston, Texas, engaged in hospital work. 
He was appointed State quarantine officer at the Sabine Pass sta¬ 
tion in 1899, and was reappointed in 1901. Dr. Tackaberry is 
regarded as a skillful physician eminently well qualified for the 
position he holds. In addition to his local popularity he enjoys a 
State reputation professionally. He is known as a zealous young 
Democrat, is unmarried, and is a Mason of the Royal Arch degree. 


46 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


DK. BENJAMI^n^ H. CAKLTON. 

Velasco. 

Dr. Benjamin H. Carlton^ member of the State health depart¬ 
ment, is the quarantine officer stationed at Velasco. He is the son 
of Dr. F. M. Carlton and Mrs. Mary Carlton, and was born in 
White County, Arkansas, near the town of Searcy, September 2, 
1861. His parents were both natives of the State of Mississippi 
and lived in that State until 1858, when they removed to Arkansas, 
settling in White County. In 1875 they came to Coryell County, 
Texas, where they remained one year, after which they moved to 
Hamilton County and made it a place of permanent residence. Dr. 
Carlton, Sr., engaged in the practice of his profession, and as a 
public spirited citizen did much toward the development of that 
section of the State. In 1878 he became interested extensively in 
mercantile business in the town of Carlton, Hamilton County, 
which town was named in his honor. After forty years of active 
professional and business life he died at the age of 65, surviving 
his wife, mother of the subject of this sketch, only a few months. 
They left eight sons, four of whom are engaged in mercantile busi¬ 
ness at Carlton and Hico, Hamilton County. 

Dr. Benjamin H. Carlton obtained his education in the common 
schools of Arkansas and Texas, and by diligent later home study. 
He began reading medicine in his fathers office at the age of 21, 
which he continued or kept up for three years, during which time 
he was actively engaged in various pursuits; his studies, though 
never being neglected, were only given such incidental attention 
as his business would permit. In 1886 he took his first course of 
lectures in the medical department of the University of Tennessee, 
from which institution he was graduated in 1888. He at first 
entered into associate practice with his father at Carlton. In the 
spring of the next year he located in Coke County, Texas, where 
he remained and practiced medicine three years, a part of which 
time he was county health officer of that county. In 1892 he re¬ 
moved to Velasco, where he has since been engaged in the practice 
of medicine. 

Dr. Carlton has been twice married, first to Miss Amanda Kerley 
of Carlton, Texas, in 1882. After her death he was married in 
1892 to Miss Lena Johnson of Velasco. He has three sons by 
his first marriage,—Marion, aged 17; Columbus, aged 15, and Oli¬ 
ver, aged 12 years; by his second marriage he has two daughters,— 
Myrtle, 8, and Doris, 6 years old. He is a member of the Baptist 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


47 


church; is a Mason, a Knight of Pythias, and a Woodman of the 
World. He is now incumbent master of his Masonic lodge, which 
is the third time in succession he has held that honorable position. 
He has also filled important offices in the other fraternities of 
which he is a member. He is a physician popular in the section 
of his residence and enjoys a State reputation as an efficient officer 
in the department in which he serves. 


DR. ARTHUR S. WOLFF. 

Brownsville. 

Dr. Arthur S. Wolff, State quarantine officer stationed at 
Brownsville, Texas, was born at Lyons, France, in 1820, and is 
the son of Dr. Simon Wolff, who was a noted Paris physician, and 
Mrs. Esther Wolff, both of whom are long since deceased. 

Dr. Wolff was professionally educated at the famous Mont¬ 
pellier School of Medicine, Paris, at which institution as student 
he remained for a period of four years before the thorough com¬ 
pletion of his graduating course, receiving also the B. A. literary 
degree. He immediately thereafter entered the French army in 
the official capacity of army surgeon. In 1846 he went to Algeria 
with the Third regiment of French zouaves, and remained there 
until after the battle of Mascara, returning on the 10th of January, 
1847. At the end of three years’ service he retired from his posi¬ 
tion in the army and went to London, England, where he engaged 
in private professional practice, in 1849 he was married in Lon¬ 
don to Miss Sarah Ansell. There his three children, Carrie, Ar¬ 
thur, and Blanche, were horn. His son Arthur is also a physician, 
and is now bacteriologist of the Hartford board of health. In 
1859 he emigrated to America, coming to the State of Kew York. 
Since coming to this country Dr. Wolff has been actively employed 
in professional work, the greater part of the time in different 
capacities as a government official. He was appointed in 1861 
surgeon to the Fifty-fifth regiment of New York volunteers, at¬ 
tached to the Third brigade, but on reaching Washington was 
assigned to station duty in Lincoln Hospital. He was later trans¬ 
ferred to duty at Carver’s Hospital, where he remained till after 
the battle of Gettysburg. He then served for a time with the 
Fifth corps under General Sykes, but was soon ordered by Surgeon- 
General Hammond to return to Carver, where he served till 1865, 
when he was appointed physician of Clinton Prison. He held 
that position till 1867, when he resigned to remove to Texas, 


48 


BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES 


locating at Brownsville, where he has since resided. In the ad¬ 
ministration of 1877-'79 he was oppointed by Governor Hubbard 
State quarantine officer at Brownsville, which position he has held 
continuously from that time to the present. 

Hr. Wolff is a member of numerous medical societies and filial 
orders. He is an officer of the Legion of Honor. He is an Odd 
Fellow, having filled the office of noble grand. He is a French 
Mason, which branch of Masonry is not affiliated with the Ameri¬ 
can line. He was president of the Northern Hew York Medical 
Association, Malone; is a permanent member of the Hew York 
Medical Society, registered as both a Texas and a Vermont mem¬ 
ber, and a member of the American ^ledical and Health Associa¬ 
tion. 

Considering the famous school of his education and the length 
of time taken by him to prepare himself thoroughly for professional 
work in connection with the fields of practice where throughout 
a long life he has been engaged, nothing additionally commenda¬ 
tory is necessary to be said, save that socially he has ever been re¬ 
garded with the highest respect of his fellow-man. 

[Hote.— Hr. Wolff, after four years at Montpellier, took the de¬ 
gree of Bachelor of Letters, corresponding with the B. A. degree of 
American colleges; then went to Paris and remained nine years^ 
obtaining his M. H. P. degree. See Polk’s Medical Hictionary.] 


HR. :vrALOHE HUGGAH. 

Eagle Pass. 

Hr. j\[alone Huggan, State quarantine inspector stationed at 
Eagle Pass, Texas, is the son of Alston Huggan and Mrs. Eliza 
Pernielia (Malone)Huggan, and was born at San Marcos, Texas, 
Hecember 6, 1868. His parents are both natives of Texas,—his 
father born at Port Lavaca in 1845, and his mother in the city of 
Austin, Texas, in 1851. They are yet living and reside at Stam¬ 
ford, Jones County, Texas, where the father is engaged in mer¬ 
chandising and farming. His grandfather, James L. Malone, was 
one of the pioneers of Hays County, where he and his wife, grand¬ 
mother of Hr. Huggan, still reside. His grandfather,. Thomas H. 
Huggan, came to Texas from Mississippi about the year 1842. He 
was the first clerk of Guadalupe County, and served in the State 
senate for several terms. Hr. Huggan’s father was a Confederate 
soldier and served through the entire war. He was connected with 
ihe State Land Office four years; served as house journal clerk 




TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


49 


two sessions of the Legislature, and was county clerk of San Saba 
County twelve years. His mother, grandmother of the subject of 
this sketch, is still living at Seguin, Texas. 

Dr. Duggan was educated at the University of Texas and Van¬ 
derbilt University. He graduated in medicine and surgery from 
the medical department of the State University in 1894. Previous 
to his graduation his occupation was that of a druggist, but im¬ 
mediately thereafter he began the practice of his profession, his 
first year being spent in the John Sealy Hospital at Galveston. 
He then went to San Saba, Texas, and practiced eighteen months, 
after which he removed to Eagle Pass, where he has since remained 
as a resident physician and surgeon. During the Spanish-Ameri- 
can war, or for about eighteen months of that period, he was acting 
assistant surgeon U. S. A., Department of Texas, Camp Eagle Pass. 

Dr. Duggan has given his moral and personal support to the 
principles and candidates of the Democratic party. In the last 
campaign he was chairman of an Eagle Pass Democratic club. 

He was married at Guthrie, Okla., in 1894, to Miss Victoria 
Abby Hardy, daughter of Dr. Benjamin Eranklin Hardy, who as 
a surgeon and physician was for a long time a prominent prac¬ 
titioner of San Francisco, Cal. He was a graduate from the medi¬ 
cal department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1840. He 
was of a benevolent and Christian character, and in his lifetime 
did much toward aiding charitable and reformatory institutions. 
His wife, to whom he was married in 1874, was Miss Victoria An¬ 
dres of New York City. She and their two daughters survived 
him at the time of his death at San Francisco, November 22, 1886. 

Dr. Duggan and Mrs. Duggan have four children,—Bernice 
Hardy, in her sixth year; Alston Hardy, in his fifth year; Benja¬ 
min Hardy, in his third year; and Mildred Hardy, about five 
months old. He is a member of the Methodist church and fills the; 
’ofiioes of steward, trustee, and superintendent of Sunday-schooL 
He is also a prominent Mason. He is medical examiner for local 
camp Woodmen of the World, for the Knights of Maccabees, and 
for the New York Life and Mutual Assurance companies. In pro- 
fc'ssional relations he is a member of the Texas State Medical 
Association, of the American Medical Association, of the Texas 
Academy of Science, of the Texas Historical Society, and of the 
Texas University Alumni Association. 

Aside from his professional usefulness, he is a valuable citizen 
otherwise to the community of his residence. He is noted for his 
charitable kindness in answer to all worthy demands, contributing 
liberally toward the cause of education and identifying himself 
with Sunday-school and church work. He has been successful in 

4—Gov’t. 


50 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


a business and professional way, which success he attributes mainly 
to the encouragement and inspiration derived through reciprocal 
devotion to his excellent wife. He was appointed to his present 
position of State quarantine inspector by Governor Sayers at the 
beginning of his first administration in 1899, and he has made a 
vigilant and efficient officer. 


HOH. EGBERT JUSTUS KLEBERG. 

Corpus Christi. 

The Hon. Robert Justus Kleberg, one of the members of the 
Texas Live Stock Sanitary Commission, was born in He Witt 
County, Texas, December 5, 1853. Though by birth an American, 
he is of German descent. His parents, Robert Justus Kleberg, 
Sr., and Rosa (von Roeder) Kleberg, came from the fatherland 
to Texas in 1834. Mr. Kleberg, Sr., now deceased, was a lawyer 
by profession, a graduate from the University of Goettingen, and 
held various important offices in connection with the several 
governments under which fortuitously he lived as a citizen. 
Originally a German subject, Mr. Kleberg, on coming to Amer¬ 
ica, first lived under the Mexican government. His home was 
in the territory later embraced by the ^^provisional government,^’ 
which merged into the Republic of Texas. The Republic, by 
annexation to the United States, was made one of the States of 
the Federal Union. Afterward, by the act of secession, it became 
one of the Confederate States, and following the downfall of that 
government it was brought back into the American Union. In 
all, actuated by inherent democratic principles, he was loyal to 
that flag which a majority of his fellow countrymen might select 
to have raised over his and their homes. He participated in the 
early Indian wars in Texas. He fought in the battle of San 
Jacinto and stood guard over Santa Anna after his capture. He 
died at the age of 85, at his home in Yorktown, Texas, at which 
place Mrs. Kleberg, the mother of the subject of this sketch, now 
resides. 

The Hon. Robert J. Kleberg completed his education at the 
University of Virginia. He had studied for the profession of 
law, and on being admitted to the bar became associated with the 
firm of Lockey & Stayton, with law offices at both Victoria and 
Cuero. Later he became a member of the law firm of Wells, 
Stayton & Kleberg at Corpus Christi, with which firm he re¬ 
mained until he abandoned the practice to take charge of the 



TEXAS OFEICIALS. 


51 


general management of the large estate of the late Captain llich- 
ard King, acting for his widow in looking after her interests in¬ 
volved in the large herds and ranches formerly owned by her 
husband. 

Since the creation of the office Mr. Kleberg has been a member 
of the Live Stock Sanitary Commission of Texas. He is a Demo¬ 
crat and has always voted the straight ticket, and has attended 
nearly all the State conventions of his party held since he became 
of age, but has never filled any ether office than that of which 
he is now the incumbent, save a term of service rendered in his 
earlier life in each of the offices respectively of county clerk and 
district clerk of De Witt County. He was married January 17, 
1886, in Kueces County, Texas, to Miss Alice Gertrude King, 
daughter of the late Captain Kichard King, famous during the 
latter years of his life as being one of the largest and wealthiest 
cattle and ranch owners in the United States. They have five 
children: Eichard Mifflen, aged 13; Henrietta Rosa, aged 10; 
Alice Gertrude, aged 8; Robert Justus, Jr., aged 5; Sarah Spohn, 
aged 3 years. Mr. Kleberg is an Odd Fellow, popularly known 
to the members of that fraternity. He was the third president 
of the Texas Cattle Raisers’ Association, and held that position 
for two years. This association has over one thousand members, 
who represent the principal portion of the cattle industry of 
Texas, Kew Mexico, and the Indian Territory. It is a publicly 
recognized fact that on account of his familiarity with its attend¬ 
ant duties and his other attributes of efficiency, no better selection 
could have been made than that of choosing him for a member of 
the sanitary commission. 


HOK. W. J. MOORE. 

San Antonio. 

The Hon. W. J. Moore, member of the Live Stock Sanitary 
Commission of the State of Texas, is of Irish descent, and is the 
son of William and Polly Ann Moore, who came from Alabama to 
Texas in 1847 and settled in Fayette County near the town of 
La Grange. Mr. Moore, Sr., engaged in the business of farming 
and stock raising, and in the spring of 1853 he moved to Lavaca 
County. He settled near the little town of Moulton, and remained 
there until the time of his death, in 1858. He was popularly 
known and was closely identified with the early settling of the coun¬ 
ties above mentioned. The Hon. W. J. Moore was born in Pickens 


52 


BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES 


County, Alabama, in 1842, and coming to Texas in his early boy¬ 
hood attended the common schools of Lavaca and Bastrop counties, 
receiving therein such education as was afforded by their facilities. 
At the age of 19 he enlisted as a private in the Confederate army 
and served four years in Company A, Pyron^s regiment, under Gen¬ 
eral Magruder. After the war he returned to his home and began 
trading in cattle and land. In 1810 he took his first herd ^^over 
the trail,^^ and for many years continued the business of driving 
cattle to Kansas and other Northern markets, selling out and re¬ 
turning to Texas in winter. Mr. Moore always accompanied his 
herd and has had many experiences with Indians, robbers, and 
other dangers incidentally attendant. In those days it was not 
unusual to see fifteen hundred or two thousand buffalo at one time, 
while deer and other wild game were to be found in abundance. 
In 1880 he located a ranch in Dakota, near Deadwood. He re¬ 
mained three years on this ranch, which was two hundred, and 
fifty miles from any railroad, but then sold out and returned to his 
Texas home. He has since been continuously engaged in land 
and cattle business in various counties in the State, and to the 
practice of economy and his close application to business may be 
attributed the success that has attended his efforts. 

Though he is a Democrat who has always labored for the good of 
his party, he has never held any other office than that of being a 
member of the Texas Live Stock Sanitary Commission. He is 
noted as a public spirited citizen, always willing to assist in any 
upbuilding enterprise or aid in any worthy cause. He is now 
interested in building an $8000 college at Moulton, Texas, the 
home of his boyhood days. 

The necessity for the existence of the Live Stock Sanitary Com¬ 
mission of Texas is easily recognized when it is seen that its protec¬ 
tion is needful to guard against the infection of the consumptive 
milk germ or cattle tuberculosis, now considered so dangerous to the 
human family. Mr. Moore, as a successful cattleman, is widely 
known as one well qualified to perform the work devolving on him 
as a member of that commission. 


HON. M. M. HANKINS. 

Quanah. 

The Hon. M. M. Hankins, member of the Live Stock Sanitary 
Commission of Texas, is a native of Barry County, Missouri, born 
November 2, 1861. His parents were reared in Tennessee, but 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


53 


they removed from that State to Missouri before the birth of their 
son, M. M. Hankins, and died there. Alone he came to Texas in 
1878, and stopping in Cooke County, engaged in farming and 
cattle raising, and remained there till 1885. He studied law at 
Gainesville, and after passing a creditable examination was ad¬ 
mitted to the bar there in 1884. In 1885 he removed from Cooke 
to Hardeman County, and was among the first to take residence 
in the town of Quanah, which at that time was just being located 
and had not been named. He has since remained there, and has 
been actively identified with every move or undertaking that has 
been put on foot which tended to the advancement and develop¬ 
ment of that section. 

The professional career of Judge Hankins may be given in the 
following extract from a publication which appeared in a recent 
issue of one of the Quanah newspapers: 

^“^He was appointed county attorney in 1885, which position he 
filled so creditably that there was no opposition when he an¬ 
nounced for election in 1886 as a candidate for the office. At the 
expiration of his term, not caring for the position any longer, 
although solicited to be a candidate, he refused to do so and re¬ 
tired. In 1890 he was elected county judge of Hardeman County, 
which position he filled with credit to himself and the people. 
When he announced for re-election in 1892 there was no opposi¬ 
tion at all, and he was again elected to that responsible office in 
1894. Having served his county faithfully and well, he retired 
from that position and has since devoted himself to his law prac¬ 
tice and cattle interests.'’^ 

Judge Hankins is a Democrat, and has been an influential 
party worker in the northwestern section of the State. He was 
for several campaigns chairman of the Democratic executive com¬ 
mittee of his county. In a business way he has been quite suc¬ 
cessful. In addition to his professional practice he derives a' 
handsome income from his extensive stock business, having twelve 
or fifteen thousand acres of fine pasture lands inclosed and well 
stocked with improved cattle. As a member of the Live Stock 
Sanitary Commission he has the essential equipment of knowl¬ 
edge and conscientious purpose, enabling him to give service to his 
State in this important work. 

He was married in Hardeman County, in 1886, to Miss Mary 
E. Eoberts, daughter of Judge J. C. Eoberts, who was an old 
and early settler of Cooke County, but in 1884 removed to his 
present home in Hardeman County. He has five children,—two 


54 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


sons and three daughters,—all young. He is a prominent Mason, 
a member of Vernon commandery; is a past master, and he has 
been deputy grand master, and high priest of chapter. Mr. 
Hankins has since his appointment as a member of the Live Stock 
Sanitary Commission devoted practically all his time to the work 
of the commission. His work in this office has been efficient. 



STATE SENATORS. 1901 


1. James X. Browning, President 

2. Barry Miller, President pro tern. 

3. W. W. Turney, ex-President pro 

tein. 

4. J. R. Wilson 

5. C. O. James 

G. R. V. Davidson 

7. C. A. Mlieeler 

8. C. L. Potter 

9. E. W. Harris 

10. R. X. Stafford 

11. M. P. McGee 

12. D. AY. Odell 

13. J. J. Swan 

14. J. A, Wayland 

15. J. G. Beatty 
IG. L. Lloyd 


17. Geo. D. Xeal, President pro tera. 

(elect) 

18. A. G. Lipscomb 

19. D. A. Paulus 

20. S. L. Staples 

21. W. D. Yett 

22. J. D. Dibrell 

23. A. B. Davidson 

24. D, McXeill Turner 

25. Tlieo. Harris 
2G. Arch Grinnan 

27. D. E. Patterson 

28. W. P. Sebastian 

29. D. F. Goss 

30. W. A. Hanger 

31. Geo. W. Savage 

32. B. H. Johnsen 






SENATE 


















THE SENATE. 


HON. BARRY MILLER. 

Dallas. 

The Hon. Barry Miller of Dallas represents the 6th senatorial 
district and was president pro tern during the regular session of 
the Twenty-seventh Legislature. He is about 36 years old, and is 
a native of South Carolina, but has been a resident citizen of Texas 
for more than nineteen years. -He served with distinction as a 
member of the Twenty-sixth Legislature, and in the present body 
has shown marked ability as a presiding officer. He is a lawyer, 
and a Democrat. He is chairman of the Committee on Roads, 
Bridges, and Ferries, and serves on the following committees: 
State Affairs, Commerce and Manufactures, Public Buildings and 
Grounds, Towns and City Corporations, and Rules. 


HON. JOHN T. BEATY. 

Jasper. 

The Hon. J. T. Beaty, member of the senate in the Twenty- 
seventh Legislature, is the grandson of Thomas Beaty, a miller 
and farmer who, as an early pioneer, located in Jasper County. 
He is the son of Charles R. Beaty and Nancy (Blewett) Beaty. 
Charles Beaty, a miller and farmer, settled with his parents in 
Jasper County in 1838, married in 1852, joined the Confederate 
army in 1861, and served until mustered out as lieutenant-colonel. 
In 1876 he moved to Travis County, for some years resided in 
Austin, but now lives about ten miles south of that place. 

John T. Beaty was born in Jasper County, January 28, 1855. 
He was educated at Trinity College, Limestone County. After 
leaving school, and returning to his old home, for a long time he 
followed the milling and farming business. In 1877 and 1878 
he was sheriff of Jasper County by appointment, and for several 
years was county chairman of the Democratic party in Jasper 
County. In 1884 he entered a law office at Jasper, in 1886 was 



56 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


admitted to the bar, and has ever since been practicing at Jasper. 
He has attended county, district, and congressional conventions, 
but only one State convention, the Galveston convention of 1898, 
when Sayers was first nominated. 

J. T. Beaty represents the 14th senatorial district, composed of 
the following ten counties: Sabine, San Augustine, i^acogdoches, 
Newton, Jasper, Tyler, Hardin, Jefferson, Orange, and Liberty. 
He Was elected to this senate without opposition as the nominee 
of the Democratic party. As he represents a country whose prin¬ 
cipal industry is minerals, timber, and farming, Mr. Beaty has in¬ 
troduced senate bill 133, establishing three additional experimental 
stations,—similar to the one at Beeville,—which will aid in the 
farming development of Texas. Mr. Beaty is especially concerned 
in the passage of senate bill No. 180,—known as Beaty^’s oil bill,— 
which will protect not only the important oil interest but also life 
and property. He has in view aiid will introduce other important 
bills. That the lawmakers of Texas may not be restricted, he 
favors a new Constitution omitting all special legislation. 

Senator Beaty belongs to the Methodist Church, the Masonic 
order, and the Woodmen of the World. He was married in 1876 
to Miss I. A. Norvell of Burkeviile, Texas, six children having 
been born to them, one dying in infancy. Those living are Miss 
Eula J., now the wife of F. M. Green of Beaumont; Eugenia 
Ford, Kate V., Charles, Florence, and Margaret. 

Mr. Beaty is chairman of Committee on Engrossed Bills, and 
is a member of eight additional committees. 

Senator Beaty being among those who favor conservative legisla¬ 
tion, clearly recognizing the constitutional guarantee that all peo¬ 
ple should have equal rights, has already established a reputation 
as an able legislator. 


HON. EGBERT VANCE DAAHDSON. 

Galveston 

The 17th senatorial district, composed of Galveston, Bra¬ 
zoria, Matagorda, Wharton, and Chambers counties, is represented 
by the Hon. Robert Vance Davidson of Galveston, who was born 
at Murphy, Cherokee County, North Carolina, on the 23d day of 
July, 1853. 

His grandfather was Mitchell Davidson. His father, Allen 
Turner Davidson, who resides at Asheville, N. C., is one of the lead¬ 
ing lawyers of the bar of North Carolina, and until his retirement 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


57 


from active professional work, about fifteen years ago, appeared as 
counsel in all the important cases in his section of the State. 
Senator Davidson^s mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Howell Davidson, is 
also still living. 

After leaving school, at the age of 19, Senator Davidson at¬ 
tended the law school of Judge J. L. Bailey, and after an examina¬ 
tion before the Supreme Court of North Carolina was admitted 
to the bar of that State in June, 1874. In November of that year 
he came to Texas, locating at Galveston, where he has since lived 
and practiced his profession. He is now a member of the law 
hrm of Davidson & Hawkins of Galveston, which occupies a front 
rank in the law firms of Texas. 

Senator Davidson is a sterling Democrat, and has always and 
under all circumstances supported the nominees of his party by 
his infiuence and vote. 

He has been particularly active 8nd interested in the educational 
affairs of his community, and at present, and for a number of years 
past, has been a member of the Galveston school board, and for 
two years was its president. 

Though recognized as an able lawyer, a prominent citizen, and a 
leading Democrat, Senator Davidson has never sought political 
office, and with the exception of four years service as city attorney 
of Galveston, and his service as school trustee of Galveston, he 
never held office until his election to the Texas senate. 

When it was known that he would accept a seat in that body, his 
nomination was made by acclamation, and his election was without 
opposition, although the 17th senatorial district has a large Re¬ 
publican vote. 

Senator Davidson was married July 16, 1879, to Miss Laura 
Harrison Jack, daughter of the late Colonel Thomas M. Jack of 
Galveston. They have one daughter, Nancy Knox, now Mrs. 
Henry Carmichael of Fort Davis, Texas, and three sons,—Thomas 
Jack, Wilbur Sevier, and Robert Vance, Jr. All of his family are 
communicants of Trinity (Episcopal) Church of Galveston, and 
he is one of the vestrymen of that church. 

Senator Davidson is Chairman of the Committee on Towns and 
Gity Corporations and a member of Judiciary Committee No. 1, 
and of other important committees of the senate. He was much 
■engaged during the session of the senate of the Twenty-seventh 
Legislature in the matter of relief bills for the storm-stricken 
district, which he represents. He worked diligently for the relief 
of his people, and in an eloquent appeal gave a picture of the Gal¬ 
veston disaster so pathetic as to bring his fellow senators and a 
large audience of other listeners to tears. 


58 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


In concluding his speech in favor of the bill for the protection 
of the city of Galveston from overflows, he said: 

^‘Mr. President: Would that 1 had the power of language to 
describe the night of September the 8th. 

‘G lived through it and heard tJie roar of that tempest. From 
the window of my own home 1 looked out upon the fury of those 
waves breaking over housetops and sweeping all before them. 

strange pale light shone from the heavens. 1 did not know,, 
or realize, then, that it was the pathway of light for many souls to- 
that far distant shore. 

^‘^Morning came at last. It was the Sabbath. 

‘'The great church bells accustomed to ring out the summons for 
service were silent. No sound broke the solemn stillness, only the- 
ceaseless throb of the clear, blue waters of the Gulf. 

"In the gray dawn we struggled into the streets and gazed 
aghast into each others^ faces and (dasped each others^ hand. 

"Where once stood the happy home there was nothing left to- 
mark the spot. Parent, child, and friend had gone to where the 
Sabbath has no end. 

"God grant that I shall never again witness such a scene as that 
tropical sun burst upon—a city of the dead, streets strewn with the 
bodies of loved ones. The living with a noble self-forgetfulness, 
stifling their own wild emotions, seeking to calm those in despair. 

"Amid the cedars on the beach stood the orphans^ home of the 
Sisters of Charity. The world has heard the pathetic story of the 
blessed women who consecrated their lives to their church. Upon 
the wreck-strewn shore they were found; lashed to them were the 
bodies of the children; and, in death, their hands still clasped the 
cross. 

"And the burial? Shall I touch upon that tragic scene? Not 
as when one is borne by weeping friends and laid gently and 
peacefully beneath flowers. No priest pronounced the burial 
service. 

"From the timbers of their own homes their funeral pyres were 
kindled. The smoke alone shrouded them, and around the sacred 
ashes there rose a grander and more determined people. 

"I am proud to be their representative to-day in such a cause 
and to present to this honorable body their right to protection 
under the Constitution of this Stale, of which I believe there is no 
doubt. 

"There is another law greater and higher than this that governs 
us—the Unwritten Law of Humanity. 

"The people of this island plead for protection—protection for 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


59 


life and home—and to Texas, her own great State—great in his¬ 
tory, great in men, and great in deeds of generosity. 

‘^Gentlemen of the senate, let them not plead in vain.’^ 

On the conclusion of his speech the senate by nnanimons vote 
ordered the closing remarks of Senator Davidson printed in the 
Journal, which was a just tribute to and proper appreciation of 
his noble effort in behalf of his people. 

The people of the 17th senatorial district, as well as the State 
at large, are ably and faithfully represented by Senator Davidson 
in the senate. 


HON. ABNED G. LIPSCOMB. 

Hempstead. 

The subject of this sketch. Senator Abner G. Lipscomb, was born 
in Washington County, Texas, January 16, 1854. His grand¬ 
father, Abner S. Lipscomb, a native of South Carolina, was on 
the supreme bench of Alabama before coming to Texas in 1840, 
and was also one of the first judges of the Supreme Court of Texas,, 
when that court was composed of Hemphill, Wheeler, and Lips¬ 
comb, and died and was buried at Austin, while a member of that 
court. Mrs. Elizabeth (Gaines) Lipscomb of Alabama was the 
wife of Judge Abner S. Lipscomb and the grandmother of the 
subject of this sketch. His grandfather on his mothePs side,. 
James H. Cocke, was an officer in the United States army and was 
the first collector of the port of Galveston, when General Sam 
Houston was President of the Republic of Texas. His grand¬ 
mother on his mother’s side was Mrs. Elizabeth (Norfork) Cocke 
of Old Point Comfort, Va. 

The father of Senator Lipscomb, Young Gaines Lipscomb, was 
a merchant and trader and died at Hempstead, Texas, in 1863. 
His mother, Mrs. Mary (Cocke) Lipscomb, was raised in Galveston 
and died in 1897 at Hempstead. 

The subject of this sketch graduated with the degree of B. P. 
from Baylor University in 1878, and was admitted to the bar in 
1880. He is now^ a member of the law firm of Lipscomb, Stiles & 
Crook, of Hempstead. 

Senator Lipscomb held the office of prosecuting attorney of 
Waller County for five consecutive terms from 1881 to 1890, and 
was then elected county judge of Waller County, holding that 
office for three consecutive terms, when he declined to run for a 
fourth term. He was the first Democrat elected to the office of 


60 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


county attorney or county judge of Waller County after the Civil 
war. 

Senator Lipscomb was married April 23, 1883, at Hempstead, 
Texas, to Miss Kate Bedell of Hempstead. One child—a little 
girl, Addie Gaines—blesses this union. 

Senator Lipscomb has nearly always been a delegate from Waller 
County to the State convention, and was a member of the con¬ 
vention that nominated Hon. L. S. Ross for Governor. 

He is a member of the Woodmen of the World fraternity. 

He had little or no opposition in the primaries, and in the gen¬ 
eral election won over Hon. Waller T. Burns, one of the strongest 
men in the Republican party, and who was elected by 3000 major¬ 
ity to the senate‘of the Twenty-fifth Legislature. Senator Lips- 
comKs majority over ex-Senator Burns was over 3500. The 16th 
district, which Senator Lipscomb represents, is composed of the 
counties of Waller, Harris, Austin, and Fort Bend. 

Senator Lipscomb is a pleasant, affable gentleman, a forcible 
thinker and speaker, and the 16th district may well be proud 
of the splendid record he has made in the upper legislative body 
of Texas. 


HOX. CALHOUiY L. POTTER. 

Gainesville. 

Hon. Calhoun L. Potter, a practicing attorney at law of Gaines¬ 
ville, Texas, represents the 4th senatorial district, composed of the 
counties of Cook and Grayson, in the senate of the Twenty-seventh 
Legislature. He was born March 6, 1854, in Pontotoc County, Mis¬ 
sissippi. His father, Cincinnatus Potter, a native of Georgia, came 
to Texas in 1858, and settled in Cook County, where he pursued 
the occupation of a farmer until his death, in 1898. His mother 
before her marriage to his father was a Miss Melissa Casteel, 
daughter of Morris Casteel, a native of Tennessee, who died in 
Alabama. His mother died in Cook County in 1882. 

Calhoun L. Potter obtained his education in the common schools 
of Texas, and by contact and association with men and affairs. 
After leaving school he read law and was admitted to the bar at 
Gainesville, where he has since practiced law with his brother, C. 
C. Potter, under the firm name of Potter & Potter. He is a Demo¬ 
crat of the most pronounced school. In every political canvass for 
the last fifteen years he has spoken not only in his own district but 
in many other parts of the State, and was a member of both 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


61 


Democratic national conventions which nominated ^Ir. Cleveland 
for the Presidency of the United States. Mr. Potter was also a 
member of the Twenty-second senate of the Texas Legislature. 

In his race for his present seat he had no opposition in the 
primaries, but in the general election he was opposed by a populist, 
who, however, received but very few votes. He has been an able 
advocate of laws that would purify the ballot and prevent frauds 
in the primaries, and is in accord with the principles of the Demo¬ 
cratic party. State and National. 

Senator Potter has been twice married. His first wife was Miss 
Nellie AValton, who died in Gainesville in 1884, leaving two 
children, Mannette (now the wife of W. K. Harris of McAlister, 
Indian Territory), and Edith, his second daughter. His second 
and present wife was ^liss Dixie Crooks, by which marriage there 
are two sons—Carlisle and AYendell. Mr. Potter is a Methodist, 
and a member of the Masonic fraternity. 

He serves on the following senate committees: Chairman In¬ 
ternal Improvements, and member of Judiciary No. 1 and six 
other committees. Senator Potter stands eminently conspicuous 
as one of the leading lawyers of the Texas bar; he is thoroughly 
conscientious and imbued natively Avith principles unquestionably 
patriotic, and is thus, by his combined natural and acquired fitness, 
well equipped and qualified to serve his people in the highest fields 
and spheres of legislation. 

HON. JULIAN J. SWANN. 

Marlin. 

Hon. Julian J. Swann, a resident lawyer of i\larlin, Texas, born 
May 7, 1851, at White Plains, Georgia, represents the 11th sena¬ 
torial district, composed of the counties of Falls, Milam, and Mc¬ 
Lennan, in the senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature. His 
ancestors came to Georgia during the colonial days. 

J. W. Swann, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a 
native of Georgia and served in the general assembly of that State. 
He was a lieutenant and later a major in the Confederate army, 
and died in Georgia in 1899. His mother, l)efore her marriage to 
his father, was Miss Lucy Jerniga]i. She died in Georgia in 1895; 
both father and mother are buried at White Plains, Georgia. 

Julian J. Swann Avas graduated from the University of Georgia 
in the class of 1871, Avith the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After 
graduating he read laAv and Av^as admitted to tlic l)ar in September, 


62 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


1872, at Greensborough, Georgia ; came to Texas in January, 1873, 
and located at Beeville, in Bee County, but in 1879 removed to 
Kosse, and then in 1888 to Marlin, where he has resided and prac¬ 
ticed law ever since. He is a Democrat, and served as county at¬ 
torney of Bee County, and under Mr. Cleveland's first administra¬ 
tion served as consul to Porto Rico. He has been a delegate to 
all county and district and nearly all the State conventions of the 
Democratic party since he came to the State. In the primaries of 
1900 he ran against J. T. Sluder and R. L. Johnson of Waco, and 
carried Milam and Falls counties. He was nominated at Marlin 
in May, 1900, and was elected by nearly 14,000 majority. Senator 
Swann was elected with Ed. Lynn of Victoria to fill the unexpired 
terms of Roberts and Perenot to the house of representatives of a 
former Legislature, but there was no called or other session after 
the election and he did not serve. He served in the Confederate 
army in the Third Georgia regiment, known as Joe BrowWs Pets. 

Senator Swann was married to Miss Mary V. A. Warren, at 
Kosse, November 7, 1876, who died July 24, 1881, and was buried 
at Kosse, leaving two children—a son, J. W., and a daughter, Lucy 
A., who is the wife of G. G. McDonald, a merchant of Tyler, Texas. 
Mr. Swann is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, 
and also a member of. the Masonic fraternity. 

Senator Swann is chairman of Committee on Agricultural Af¬ 
fairs and serves on committees: Judiciary No. 2, Penitentiaries, 
Public Health and Vital Statistics, Commerce and Manufactures, 
Public Printing, Judicial Districts, and Towns and City Corpora¬ 
tions. 

The marriage of Senator Swann on March 31, 1901, to Miss 
Beulah Gaither of Chilton, Falls County, Texas, is inserted (as an¬ 
nounced) with much pleasure by the publishers hereof, as a matter 
of addenda. In connection with this happy event the Tribune, an 
Austin paper, in its issue of April 1st, speaks of the senator as 
follows: 

^^The arrival of the distinguished senator and his bride was the 
cause of much congratulation for the happy groom. This is Mr. 
Swann^s first term in the senate, but is by no means his first public 
service. As consul to Porto Rico he made a fine official, and he has 
been one of the best workers in the Twenty-seventh senate. He is 
popular with all his associates.’^ 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


63 


HON. J. R. WILSON. 

Texarkana 

The 1st senatorial district, composed of Bowie, Cass, Morris, 
and Marion counties, has an able lopresentative in the State senate 
in the person of Hon. J. R. Wilson, who was born in Charlotte 
County, Virginia, July 26, 1864. His father, James R. Wilson, a 
farmer, was born, reared, and married near Charlotte Courthouse, 
Virginia, and died in Lunenburg County, Virginia, in 1872. His 
mother, Mrs. Mary Jane (Roberts) Wilson, was born, roared, and 
married in Charlotte County, Virginia. She died in Lunenburg 
County, Virginia, in 1871. 

The subject of this sketch received his education in the Virginia 
Polytechnic Institute and Agricultural and Mechanical College of 
that State. He came to Texas in the fall of 1885, locating in 
Bowie County, where he taught school until 1890. While super¬ 
intendent of the city schools of Texarkana he was, in 1890, ap¬ 
pointed county school superintendent and served several terms in 
that office as well as that of district clerk, until his election to the 
State senate in 1900. He is a Democrat and has participated 
actively in the conventions of that party. 

Senator Wilson was married on Christmas day, 1888, at Boston, 
Bowie County, Texas, to Miss Lou McCright, and of this union 
there are four children—Lloyd, Lucile, Lillian, and a baby girl. 

He is a member of the Christian church, and of the Elks, K. of 
P., I. 0. 0. F., and Masonic fraternities. 

Senator Wilson was the author of a memorial from this Legis¬ 
lature to our representatives in Congress petitioning them to have 
enacted into a law a provision for a sea-wall for Galveston, and also 
for an international dam across the Rio Grande at El Paso, so the 
beautiful valley below El Paso may be irrigated. 

He is chairman of the Committee on Enrolled Bills, and a mem¬ 
ber of committees on Internal Improvements, Constitutional 
Amendments, Penitentiaries, Apportionment, Finances, and Public 
Buildings and Grounds. 

Senator Wilson has represented his people faithfully and 
efficiently, and he will go back to them with the approval of his 
conscience as to duties thus performed. 


64 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON WILLIAM PETIT SEBASTIAN. 

Bracked RIDGE. 

The counties of Palo Pinto/ Stephens, Eastland, Callahan, Tay¬ 
lor, Nolan, Mitchell, Howard, Martin, Andrews, Glasscock, Mid¬ 
land, Ector, Winkler, Loving, Ward, Crane, Upton, Peeves, Gaines,. 
Yoakum, Terry, Lynn, Dawson, Borden, Garza, Kent, Scurry,. 
Fisher, Stonewall, Haskell, Jones, and Shackleford, thirty-three in 
number, compose the 28th senatorial district which is represented 
in the Twenty-seventh Texas senate by the Hon. William P. 
Sebastian of Brackenridge, Stephens County. He was born in 
St. Francis County, Missouri, November 28, 1852, and is the son 
of Edwin C. Sebastian, a Missouri farmer, whose home and farm 
possessions were at and near Libertyville, St. Francis County, in 
that State. His father died in Madison County, Missouri, in the 
eighty-first year of his age. His mothePs maiden name was Miss 
Artemissa Elizabeth Petit who, after a long life of companionship 
with her husband, died in St. Louis, Mo., in the seventy-sixth year 
of her age. 

Senator Sebastian was educated in the home schools of his native 
county, after which he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 
1875, at Ironton, Missouri. His first practice was in Boulder,. 
Colorado, where he went soon after being admitted to the bar. 
While in Colorado, which was at the time of his going there a 
territory, he voted and participated in the election which adopted 
the Constitution under which she was admitted as a State into the 
Federal Union. In December, 1876, he returned to Missouri, pre¬ 
paratory to his removal to Texas in January, 1877, when he came 
to Stephens County, settling at Brackenridge, at which place he 
has since resided and practiced his profession excepting for the 
time between 1885 and 1888 inclusive, or during the first admin¬ 
istration of President Cleveland, when he took temporary or 
official residence at the towm of Cisco, serving as deputy revenue- 
collector. 

Senator Sebastian has been a citizen of Texas, thoroughly identi¬ 
fied with her every interest, for nearly a quarter of a century, 
during which time he has attended nearly every State convention 
as well as those of his county and district that have met in the- 
interest of Democracy. At the district convention held at Colo¬ 
rado City, September, 1898, he was nominated to represent the 
28th senatorial district for the ensuing four years. In the gen¬ 
eral election he was opposed by two candidates, one of whom, a 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


65 


Populist, received 4965 votes, and the other, a Republican, getting 
only 910 votes, while he himself rec'.eived 8652 votes, or a majority 
of 2777 over both opponents. 

Senator Sebastian has been twice married. His first wife was 
Miss Jennie Porter, daughter of James Porter, now residing at 
Cisco, Texas. She died in 1890. His second wife was Mrs. Anna 
B. Hutchings of Austin, Texas, to whom he was married in 1894. 
He is a member of the Christian church, is a Royal Arch Mason, 
and an Odd Fellow. 

He is chairman of the Committee on Public Lands and Land 
Office .and serves on seven other committees. Senator Sebastian 
served as a member of the house from the 104th legislative district 
in the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Legislatures. The excel¬ 
lent record made by him in the lower branch of the Legislature, 
together with his service in the Twenty-sixth senate, in addition to 
establishing for him the reputation of an able lawmaker, give 
assurance to his constituency and the State at large that his labors 
in the present body will result in good to the public. 


HON^. E. W. HARRIS. 

Greenville. 

Senator E. W. Harris, publisher of the Greenville Herald at 
Greenville, Texas, was born in Henderson, Rusk County, Texas, 
December 17, 1861, and represents the 5th senatorial district of 
Texas, composed of the counties of Hunt and Collin, in the senate 
of the Twenty-seventh Texas Legislature. 

His father, J. W. Harris, a merchant, was born and reared in 
Charleston, South Carolina. He came to Texas about the year 
1859, and settled at Henderson, where he died in 1894. His- 
mother, previous to her marriage to his father, was Miss Fredora. 
Myrick, born and reared in Paris, Tennessee. They were married 
at Henderson, Texas, where Mrs. Harris still resides. 

Senator Harris was educated under the tutelage of Professor 
Oscar Cooper at Henderson College. He has been engaged in the 
publication of newspapers for twenty years. In 1879 he first 
founded at Henderson the Rusk County News, which paper he 
published until 1883, when he removed to Greenville and purchased 
the Greenville Herald, a weekly publication; but in 1890 he estab¬ 
lished a daily paper at that place, the Greenville Morning Herald, 
and he has since published both the weekly and daily editions of 
these papers. He has represented the State Press Association, of 

5—Gov’t. 


66 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


which he is now the president, at several State and National con¬ 
ventions. 

Senator Harris is a Democrat. He has attended State and 
National conventions of his party for the last twenty years, but 
the National conventions only as a representative of his news¬ 
papers. He had no opponent in his race for the senate, being 
nominated and elected without opposition. 

He was married to Miss Margaret Camp in 1882, at Henderson, 
Texas. They have a son, Henry. The senator is a member of the 
Methodist church, and is a Knight of Pythias. 

In the Twenty-seventh senate he is chairman of the Committee 
on Public Printing and a member of the committees on Finance, 
Education, Labor, and Apportionment. 

While it is not disparaging to say of them that many members 
of the Twenty-seventh senate are sons of Texas by adoption only, 
neither is it discreditable to Senator Harris to say that he is one 
of her favorite native sons. He is now nearing the meridian of 
life, every day of which he has been of and for Texas. From 
whatever country others may hail, there are none in the body of 
which he is an honored member that can claim to be more than 
his peer, either in patriotic purpose or legislative ability. 


HON. CHAELES 0. JAMES. 

Sulphur Springs. 

Senator Charles 0. James, a practicing lawyer at Sulphur 
Springs, Texas, born in Hopkins County, Texas, December 18, 
1860, represented the 2d senatorial district of Texas, composed of 
the counties of Hopkins, Franklin, Camp, Delta, Titus, and Ked 
Eiver in the Twenty-sixth and is now a member of the Twenty- 
seventh senate.. 

His grandfather, James James, was born in Culpeper County, 
Virginia; he moved to Georgia, where he lived the latter part of 
his life, and died there about the year 1870. 

His maternal grandfather, Jesse Brooks, was also a native of 
Virginia, but moved to Oglethorpe County, Georgia, where he 
spent the greater part of his life engaged in planting. He died at 
Atlanta, Ga., about the year 1896. Charles F. James, father of 
the subject of this sketch, was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, 
brought up in Heard County, Georgia, and moved to Texas in 1857, 
settling in Hopkins County, and died there in 1863. His mother, 
before her marriage to his father, was Miss Sarah H. Brooks, who 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


67 


was born and brought up in Heard County, Georgia. She is still 
living in Sulphur Springs, Texas. 

Charles 0. James was educated at the conmion schools of his 
native county. After leaving school he taught in that county 
about three years. He then read law under Seth W. Steward and 
A. A. Henderson, now of Fort Worth, Texas, and was admitted 
to the bar on the 22d of February, 1883, at Sulphur Springs. In 
1886 he was elected county attorney of Hopkins County, and held 
that position for six years. In 1890 he was elected a member of 
the house of representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature, and 
in 1896 he was appointed chairman of the executive committee of 
the 4th congressional district. He was the first to inaugurate 
district primaries as a method of selecting district nominees for 
office, which has since been generally adopted by other districts. 
Senator James is now engaged in the practice of law at Sulphur 
Springs. 

He is a Democrat, and has attended all but one State convention 
of that party held since he attained his majority. In his race for 
the senate in 1898 he had no opposition in the primaries, but de¬ 
feated a Populist in the general election. He is an advocate of 
election reform, and is interested in the question of equitable taxa¬ 
tion and just freight rates on railroads, the leading subjects for 
future legislation. 

Senator James was married to Miss Ida Marion Whatley, Febru¬ 
ary 26, 1888, in Hopkins County, Texas. They have three child¬ 
ren,—Jessie, Grace, and Carrie. He is a Baptist. In the senate 
he serves on the following committees, to wit; Chairman Commit¬ 
tee on Public Buildings and Grounds, member of Committee on 
Judicial Districts, Contingent Expenses, Finance, Stock and 
Stock Eaising, Agricultural Affairs, Treasurer’s and Comptrollers 
Offices, and Engrossed Bills. 

The senator is vivacious and gifted in repartee, though in these 
characteristics nothing is to be found compromisive of senatorial 
dignity. Of the six counties composing the district ably rep¬ 
resented by him, Hopkins may well be proud to claim him as a 
native son. 


HON. BEN H. JOHNSON. 

Frost. 

Senator Ben H. Johnson, a lawyer by profession, born July 4, 
1860, in Floyd County, Georgia, represents the 9th senatorial dis- 


68 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


trict of Texas, composed of the counties of Navarro^ Henderson, 
and Kaufman, in the senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature. 

His ancestors were English raid Scotch. His grandfather, 
David Johnson, was one of the antebellum governors of the State 
of South Carolina, and died there in 1856. 

The father of Senator Johnson was Edward Coke Johnson, a 
Southern planter who removed from Lmion County, South Caro¬ 
lina, in 1843 and settled in Eloyd County, Georgia, where he died 
in 1882. His mother was Miss Elizabeth Bevell previous to her 
marriage to his father. She also died in Floyd County, Georgia, 
in 1882, one month after the death of her husband. 

Ben H, Johnson, the subject of this sketch, was educated at the 
public schools of Georgia. He was admitted to the bar in 1884, 
and removed to Texas; taught school about a year at what was 
known as the Cross Eoads; was afterwards engaged in the mer¬ 
chandise business at Frost, Texas, where he is now engaged in the 
real estate business. He is a Democrat, and has been a delegate 
to every State convention of the party since 1890. He has 
always been active in behalf of party success. 

Senator Johnson had two opponents in the convention of 1900, 
but was nominated on the first ballot, and in the general election 
he defeated his Populist opponent by about 7000 majority. He 
is an old member, having represented the same district in the 
Twenty-sixth senate. 

Senator Johnson was married to Miss Sallie E. Sanders, daugh¬ 
ter of Captain E. J. Sanders, of Frost, Texas, in 1889. They have 
two children, a son and daughter,—Eichard Coke and Florence 
Lucile. He is a member of the Royal Arch Masons, I. 0. 0. F., 
Knights of Pythias and Woodmen of the World. Senator John¬ 
son serves on the following senate committees: Chairman of 
Committee on Treasurer and Comptroller’s Departments, a mem¬ 
ber of the committees on Education, Military Affairs, State Af¬ 
fairs, Eoads, Bridges and Ferries, State Asylums, Agricultural 
Affairs, and Labor. 

He is a genial gentleman and very popular with other members 
of the Legislature, as well as with the public at large. His record 
as a lawmaker shows fealty to his constituency and efficiency in 

statecraft. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


69 


HOX. GEOEGE D. NEAL. 

Navasota. 

Senator George D. Neal, a practicing lawyer of Navasota, Texas, 
was born October 7, 1853, in the State of Virginia. He represents 
in the senate of the Twenty-seventh Texas Legislature and repre¬ 
sented in the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth sessions thereof the 
15th senatorial district, composed of the counties of Grimes, Leon, 
Walker, Madison, Montgomery, San Jacinto, and Polk. 

The father of George D. Neal, Dr. Thomas W. Neal, a practicing 
physician, born in North Carolina but brought up near Kichmond, 
Ya., came to Texas in 1866, and settled at the old town of Wash¬ 
ington, where he practiced his profession until his death, which 
occurred at that place in 1884. His mother, previous to her mar¬ 
riage to his father, was Miss Elizabeth C. Haskins, born, reared, 
and married in Chesterfield County, Virginia; she died in the old 
family home at Washington, Texas, in 1873. 

Senator Neal was educated at the public schools of Washington 
and at Baylor University, Waco, Texas. He read law and was 
admitted to the bar at Bellville, Austin County, Texas, in 1878, 
and is now practicing law at Navasota, Texas, in the law firm of 
Neal & Boon. 

He is a Democrat, and served as judge of the county court of 
Grimes County from 1884 to 1886, and for eight years, from 1888 
to 1896, he served as city attorney of the city of Navasota. He 
has been a delegate to many county and State conventions of his 
party. In 1896, in his first race for the senate, he was elected 
without opposition to serve the unexpired term of Senator W. P. 
McComb, deceased. In his second race he was not opposed in the 
nominating convention, but in the general election he defeated two 
opponents, one a Eepublican, and the other a Populist candidate. 

Senator Neal married Miss Fannie C. Brooks, October 7, 1880, 
at Washington, Texas. Their children are Miss Maud and Miss 
Georgia, both young ladies. He and his family are members of 
the Presbyterian church. He is a member of the Masonic frater¬ 
nity and of the societies of Knights of Pythias and A. 0. U. W. 

He is chairman of Committee on State Penitentiaries and a 
member of eight other committees. 

Senator Neal is recognized by his colleagues as one of the ablest 
members of the senate, and at the Texas bar he stands in the first 
rank of lawyers. 

As is usual, on the eve of adjournment of the regular session of 


70 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


the Legislature, the president pro tern of the senate was chosen. 
Senator Neal was elected to succeed the Hon. Barry Miller, con¬ 
cerning which the Austin Evening Tribune of April 9th published 
the following notice: 

^^Hon. George D. Neal, senator from Grimes County, who was 
on yesterday unanimously elected president pro tempore of the 
senate, is one of the most popular members of the upper legislative 
body. He is thoroughly versed in parliamentary usages and prac¬ 
tices and will no doubt prove an excellent presiding officer. Upon 
accepting the honor yesterday Senator Neal delivered a brief but 
appropriate speech and promised that he would discharge his duties 
in a fair and impartial manner and to the best of his ability.'’^ 


HON. DANIEL W. ODELL. 

Cleburne. 

Senator Daniel W. Odell, a practicing lawyer of Cleburne, Texas, 
born in Crockett, Texas, December 30, 1867, represented the 10th 
senatorial district, composed of the counties of Johnson, Ellis, and 
Hill, in the Twenty-sixth Legislature, and is now a member of the 
Twenty-seventh senate. 

His maternal grandfather, Daniel Murchison, was a Mississippi 
planter, of which State he was a native, hut he removed to Texas 
in 1845 and settled in Houston County, where he died in 1881. 

The father of Senator Odell, J. M. Odell, was a native of Ten¬ 
nessee and came to Texas in 1855. He settled first in Crockett; 
from there he moved to Cleburne, where he still resides. The 
mother of Senator Odell prior to her marriage was Miss Adahell 
Murchison. She is also still living with her husband at Cleburne. 

The subject of this sketch w^as ('ducated at the public and pri¬ 
vate schools of Cleburne, where In* afterwards read law and was 
admitted to the bar in 1892. He has ever since been practicing 
law there, being now of the law firm of Ramsey & Odell. He 
served as county attorney of Johnson County from 1894 to 1897, 
and then resigned in order to enter more fully into the general 
practice of law. He has attended all State conventions of his 
party for the last ten years, and was a district delegate to the 
National Democratic Convention held at Chicago in 1896, and a 
delegate at large to the National Democratic Convention held at 
Kansas City in 1900. 

In his race for the present senate he had no opposition in the 
primaries, but in the general election was opposed by a Populist, 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


71 


whom he defeated by about 6000 majority. Senator Odell believes 
that the platform demands of the Democratic party should be 
enacted into law, and he would like to see the next National Demo¬ 
cratic Convention adhere to the policy outlined at Chicago in 1896, 
and at Kansas City in 1900. 

He was married to Miss Birdie G. Murchison at Crockett, De¬ 
cember 21, 1893. They have two daughters, Arabella and Mary. 
He is a member of the I. 0. 0. F., and is a Knight of Pythias. 
He serves as chairman of the Committee on State Affairs, and as 
a member of the committee on Judicial Districts, Internal Im¬ 
provements, Eoads, Bridges and Ferries, Agriculture, Public 
Buildings and Grounds, and Labor. 

He is happily endowed with those natural gifts that should ac¬ 
company the educational equipment of a statesman; and when 
reference is made to the ability of the Twenty-seventh senate, as a 
body, to those familiar with its personnel, a thought of Senator 
Odell will be suggested. 


HON. GEOEGE W. SAVAGE. 

Dye. 

Senator George W. Savage, a farmer, residing at Dye, Montague 
County, Texas, was born in Linn County, Oregon, January 6, 1860. 
He served in the Texas Legislature in the house of representatives 
during the Tv/enty-fifth and Twenty-sixth sessions, and is now in 
the senate, representing the 31st senatorial district, composed of 
the counties of Montague, Wise, and Denton. His grandfather, 
Hiram Savage, a Primitive Baptist preacher, resided many years 
in Grayson County, where he died about 1871. His maternal 
grandfather was G. W. Vernon, a farmer, who died in Linn County, 
Oregon, about 1868. The father of Senator Savage, James W. 
Savage, w^as a native of Missouri, but came to Texas about 1840 
and located in Grayson County. He, however, about 1848, crossed 
the plains to Oregon for mining purposes, and first located there, 
but went to California on the discovery of gold in that State. He 
returned to Texas in 1870, and first lived in Cook County, but 
later removed to Montague County, where he now resides. He has 
been a preacher of the Christian church for about thirty years, and 
at the same time a farmer, in the latter county. The mother of 
Senator Savage, Mrs. Charity (Vernon) Savage, died in Montague 
County in 1886. 

George W. Savage was educated at the common schools of Mon- 


72 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


tague County and acquired a more extensive education by teaching 
school. He was a teacher in the public schools of Montague 
County for sixteen years, and during that time he engaged in 
farming, and now he owns and operates two farms there, one a 
grain and the other a fruit farm. 

He is a Democrat, and for the last five years has attended the 
county and district conventions of his party, and stumped his dis¬ 
trict in behalf of the party ticket. In his race for the Twenty- 
fifth house of representatives he was opposed in the primaries but 
defeated his opponent by about 1500 majority, and in the general 
election he defeated a Populist by about 1200 votes. In his race 
for the Twenty-sixth house of representatives he had two opponents 
in the primaries, but defeated them by a plurality vote of about 
350, and had a Populist opponent in the general election whom 
he defeated by about 2000 majority. 

In his race for the Twenty-seventh senate he had two opponents 
in the primaries whom he defeated by a majority vote of 300. In 
the general election he had a Populist opponent and also a Eepub- 
lican opponent, and he defeated them in the district by about 8000 
votes. 

In the present senate he introduced a bill, which became a law, 
providing an appropriation annually of $20,000 for the main¬ 
tenance of the North Texas Normal College at Denton. He also 
introduced a concurrent motion in the senate providing for the 
election of the regents of the University of Texas by the people. 
He serves on the following committees, to wit: Chairman of 
Committee on Contingent Expenses, member of Finance, State Af¬ 
fairs, Military Affairs, Public Debts, Claims and Accounts, Coun¬ 
ties and County Boundaries, Agricultural Affairs, Public Build¬ 
ings and Grounds, Mining and Irrigation. 

On the floor of the senate Senator Savage shows himself to be 
a logical and forcible reasoner, and his record establishes the 
character of an able lawmaker. 

He is a member of the Christian church. 


HON. W. W. TURNEY. 

El Paso. 

The 25th senatorial district, composed of the county of El Paso 
and twenty-four other western counties, is represented in the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature by the Hon. W. W. Turney of El Paso. 
He was first elected to represent this senatorial district in 1896, 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


73 


and served in the Twenty-iiftli and Twenty-sixth Legislatures, or 
for the four years’ senatorial term. He was again returned to the 
Twenty-seventh senate in 1900, and is now ably representing his 
constituency in that body. 

Senator Turney was born at Marshall, Texas, July 11, 1861, and 
is the son of the late Major A. G. Turney, who for nearly half a 
century was one of the most prominent citizens of Harrison 
County. 

Senator Turney, after receiving primary instruction in the com¬ 
mon schools and a preparatory course at the high school of his 
native town was graduated from the Sam Houston Normal Insti¬ 
tute at Huntsville, in 1884. He was admitted to the bar at 
Alpine, Brewster County, in 1887, and was soon thereafter in¬ 
ducted. into the office of county attorney of that county, which 
office he filled for two years. After this he entered private prac¬ 
tice, and continued at Alpine until 1892, when he removed to El 
Paso. At this place he was still in the 26th legislative district, 
and in that year he was nominated and elected as its representative 
in the Twenty-third Legislature. In 1894 he was again elected to 
a seat in the Twenty-fourth house, and after serving these two 
terms as a representative in the house he was elected from his 
senatorial district to the Twenty-fifth senate. 

Senator Turney has also been successful in a business way. The 
material patrimony with which he began a business life has been 
converted by him into a large western stock interest and has made 
him financially independent. He has been an infiuential delegate 
to most of the local and State conventions held since he came of 
age, and he has done much on the stump in his district and else¬ 
where for the good of his party. 

Senator Turney was married to Miss Iva Guthrie, daughter of 
Hon. S. E. Guthrie of Alpine, Texas, December 15, 1892. 

He is chairman of Judiciary Committee No. 2, and serves on 
eight other committees. As a public servant he has been faithful 
over more than a few things, and an appreciative people should be 
ready to tender to him the proverbial reward. 

[The publishers, unable to obtain data from Senator Turney, 
have relied upon such information as could be gained from other 
sources. This sketch is inserted with the hope that it will not 
prove displeasing to the senator nor any of his many friends.] 


74 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON. DAVID A. PAULUS. 

Hallettsville. 

The 18th senatorial district is composed of the counties of La¬ 
vaca, Fayette, and Colorado, and is represented in the Twenty- 
seventh senate by the Hon. David A. Panins. Senator Panins was- 
born in Coryell Connty, Texas, December 6, 1862. He is the son 
of Dr. A. D. Panins, a distingnished physician, whose original 
home was Kiel, Germany. He came to America in 1839, and on 
account of his professional skill he was appointed by the United 
States government to the position of assistant snrgeon in the navy. 
After some years in this service, he retired amd came to Texas,, 
settling in Coryell Connty in 1861, In 1867 he removed to Fay¬ 
ette Connty, where he practiced his profession nntil his death, 
which occurred at Flatonia, in that connty, in 1895. As a skillfnl 
snrgeon and able practitioner Dr. Panins enjoyed a national repn- 
tation. He was one of the originators and charter members of the 
State Medical Association of Texas. He was married to Miss- 
Mary Mayberry, who was born in Hickman Connty, Tennessee. 
Her father, J. W. Mayberry, came from Tennessee to Texas, 
settling first in Bnrleson Connty, when it was qnite new, and later 
going to Coryell Connty, when it was on the frontier of the State. 
He died there in 1876. Mrs. Panins, his danghter, is now living 
at Denver, Colo. 

Senator Panins graduated from the Sam Honston Normal In- 
stitnte in 1881. He at first engaged in school work. He tanght 
two years at Bellville; was two years snperintendent of pnblic 
schools at Terrell, and the next year, 1886, resigned a similar 
position at Clebnrne to go into the office of Bell & Shelbnrn at 
Bellville to pnrsne the stndy of law. He was admitted to the bar 
in Jnly, 1888, and located at Hallettsville in Jannary, 1890, where 
he has since practiced and is now one of the firm of Panins & 
Eagsdale at that place. From 1890 to 1892, inclnsive, he was 
connty attorney of Lavaca Connty, and from 1896 to 1900, incln¬ 
sive, he was connty jndge of Lavaca Connty. 

Beginning with the Honston convention of 1884, he has been 
a delegate to every State convention since held, excepting that at 
San Antonio in 1890. He was chairman of the 10th congressional 
district, 1892-^94. In 1896 the Democratic candidate from the 
18th senatorial district was elected by a plnrality of only five 
votes; in 1900 Senator Panins was elected by a majority of 8000 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


75 


votes, having received in the nominating convention more than 
the requisite two-thirds vote on the first ballot. 

Senator Paulus believes there are some frictional parts about our 
old Constitution bearing upon the machinery of government. To 
the end of abolishing these objectionable features he would have 
a constitutional convention held and a new Constitution framed 
to take the place of the one that has outlived its usefulness. 

He was married at Bellville, Texas, N’ovember 2, 1882, to Miss 
Annie Wilson of that place. They have six children,—Henry, 
David, Jim, Julia, Eoscoe, and Patton. He belongs to the Amer¬ 
ican Legion of Honor and the Sons of Hermann, and is a member 
of the Knights of Pythias and I. 0. 0. F. fraternities. He is 
chairman of the Committee on Education, and serves on the com¬ 
mittees of Agricultural Affairs, Penitentiaries, Insurance, Statis¬ 
tics and History, and several others. 

Senator Paulus commands the highest esteem of his fellow mem¬ 
bers of the senate. Though thoroughly American and a native 
of Texas, he is of German parentage, speaks, reads, and writes that 
language fiuently, and is classed with those of our citizens known 
as German Americans. 


HOK. JOHN A. WAYLAND. 

Calvert. 

The 12th senatorial district, composed of the counties of Free¬ 
stone, Limestone, Kobertson, and Brazos, is represented by the 
Hon. John A. Wayland of Calvert. Senator Wayland is a native 
of Virginia, born May 25, 1840. He was reared and educated in 
his native State, but came to Texas in 1868, since which time he 
has been identified with the development and prosperity of his 
adopted State. He first located at Jefferson and engaged in mer¬ 
cantile pursuits, afterwards removed to Eockdale, where he entered 
into the banking business, and later became interested in a mer¬ 
cantile and cotton brokerage business in Austin. Senator Wayland 
has always regarded agriculture as his chief life pursuit and has 
made every other matter of business incidental to the advancement 
of his farming interest. 

In 1880 he traveled East, and extended his trip from Europe- 
to the country of the Kile, there to judge from personal inspection 
the cotton cultivation and the possible cotton output of that region. 
From there he crossed the Sahara, visiting by the way the Holy 
Land in Syria, Damascus, and many other points of note- referred 


76 


BIOGIIAPHICAL SKETCHES 


to in sacred history. In 1881 he returned home and married at 
Calvert, near which place, in llobertson County, are situated the 
fertile Brazos valley fields, composing the splendid farm or planta¬ 
tion OAvned and operated by him. 

He is hy birth and education a gentleman of the old Southern 
school. In his early manhood, April, 1861, he enlisted as a Con¬ 
federate soldier, joining at Culpeper Courthouse, Virginia, Cap¬ 
tain Porter’s company, attached to the Seventh Virginia Regiment. 
He served throughout the Avar—in A^irginia under General Lee, 
and in the Western army under Generals Johnston and Hood. 
At the time of the general surrender he Avas paroled with his 
command at Meridian, Miss. 

He represented the 64th flotorial legislative district in the 
Twenty-fourth Legislature, and there made an excellent record as 
a representative. He was returned to the TAV^enty-fifth Legisla¬ 
ture as a member of the senate from the district he now repre¬ 
sents, and after serAung the four years for which he was elected, 
ably representing his district in both the TAventy-fifth and Twenty- 
sixth Legislatures, he was again elected and returned as a member 
of the present senatorial body. 

In his service as a representative and senator he has introduced 
and brought to enactment some very important measures, notable 
among which is a bill relating to the protection of farmers in the 
purchase of adulterated fertilizers, including adulterated poison 
used for the destruction of the cotton worm; another, to facilitate 
the making of bonds by authorizing corporate suretyship thereon, 
also the ^Tee bill,” and others. 

Senator Wayland, though Avatchful of every public interest, is a 
planter, and he keeps in close touch Avith those composing the 
great agricultural class of his State. He is an earnest and 
assiduous worker, and commanding as he does the highest regard 
and confidence of his colleagues, he seldom fails to accomplish the 
enactment of the measures he advocates. He is known to be a 
thorough business man, and in this connection it may he said that 
from his first service in the Twenty-fourth house up to and in¬ 
cluding the present Legislature he has continuously acted as a 
member of the Finance Committee. In the Twenty-sixth senate 
he was chairman of the Committee on Agricultural Affairs, and in 
the Twenty-seventh senate he is chairman of the Committee on 
Public Debt, Claims and Accounts, and serves as a member of six 
other important committees. 

He is a member of the Episcopal church, a Knight Templar 
Mason, a Knight of Pythias, and cn Odd Fellow. 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


77 


HON. JOSEPH DIBRELL. 

Seguin. 

The 21st senatorial district, composed of the counties of Guada¬ 
lupe, Caldwell, Gonzales, Comal, and Blanco, is represented in the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature by the Hon. Joseph B. Dibrell of 
Seguin. Senator Dibrell is now closing his second term, conclud¬ 
ing eight years of service as the representative of his senatorial 
district, having been elected first to a seat in the Twenty-fourth 
senate at the general election of 1894. He is a member of an old 
Kentucky family of Dibrells. His grandfather, John L. Dibrell, 
a merchant and a lifelong resident of Kentucky, died in Whitley 
County of that State about the year 1830. Both of his parents are 
natives of Whitley County, which is as well the birthplace of the 
senator, who was born there December 1, 1855. His father, Joseph 
B. Dibrell, Sr., was married there to Miss Margaret J. Brawner, 
daughter of Dr. J. W. Brawner, who was also a native of Ken¬ 
tucky, and who, while serving in the capacity of army surgeon in 
the war between the United States and Mexico, was killed at the 
battle of Monterey. In December, 1857, Mr. Dibrell, Sr., came to 
Texas with his family and settled at Seguin, in Guadalupe County. 
Here he engaged in merchandising and also became interested in 
farming and stock raising. He died at Seguin in 1883, and his 
widow, surviving him just ten years, died at the same place in 
1893. 

Senator Dibrell was graduated from the Emory and Henry Col¬ 
lege, Virginia, in the class of 1879, taking the B. A. degree. He 
returned to Texas, and while preparing for the profession of law 
he taught school in his home county. In ^lay, 1882, he was ad¬ 
mitted to the bar at Seguin, where he has since continuously prac¬ 
ticed his profession. In 1891 and 1892 he was associated in prac¬ 
tice with Governor Ireland, being junior member of the firm of 
Ireland & Dibrell. Since 1886 he has shown an active interest 
in politics and has been a conspicuous figure in all assemblies and 
conventions the work of which pertained to State governmental 
affairs or State representation in National affairs. In all he has 
been recognized as a zealous and able worker. 

He has been twice married; first, to IVIiss Mollie E. Fennell, 
daughter of Dr. J. W. Fennell of Seguin, June 21, 1882. Four 
children were born of this union,—James F., Joseph B., Jr., Edwin 
W., and Raymond. The mother died at Seguin in 1898. His 


78 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


second wife was Mrs. Ella Peyton Dancy of Austin. He is a 
member of the Episcopal church and is a Eoyal Arch Mason. 

Senator Dibrell is acknowledged to have few if any superiors at 
the bar of Texas. As a constitutional lawyer, and by reason of 
his experience, he is eminently well fitted to serve his people as a 
lawmaker. He was president pro tern of the Twenty-fifth senate 
and proved himself to be a fair and efficient presiding officer. He 
has made an excellent record as legislator, and is doubtless capable 
of performing well any kind of legislative work that by his con¬ 
stituents may be intrusted to him. 


HON. D. E. PATTERSON. 

Belton. 

Senator D. E. Patterson represents the 27th senatorial district, 
composed of the counties of Bell, Lampasas, Coryell, Bosque, and 
Hamilton. He was born in Sumter County, Georgia, December 
14, 1854. He was a representative in both the Twenty-fourth and 
Twenty-fifth Legislatures. He is a retired lawyer and a planter; 
a Democrat; has a family; is a member of the M. E. church, and a 
Mason. He is chairman of the Committee on Manufactures, and 
serves on other important committees. 


HON. ROBERT N. STAFFORD. 

Mineola. 

Smith, Rains, Van Zandt, Gregg, and Upshur counties com¬ 
pose the 7th senatorial district, which is represented by the Hon. 
Robert N. Stafford. He was born at The Rock, Upson County, 
Georgia, November 6, 1856. He was elected to the Twenty-fourth 
senate, and after serving in that body and in the Twenty-fifth, he 
was again returned to the Twenty-sixth, and is now serving the 
closing legislative term for which he was elected in the Twenty- 
seventh body. He is a lawyer; a Democrat; has a family; is a 
member of the M. E.' church, and is a Mason and a Knight of 
Pythias. He is chairman of Judiciary Committee No. 1, and 
serves on other committees. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


7t) 


HON. LEVI LLOYD. 

Jacksonville. 

The 13th senatorial district, composed of Anderson, Angelina, 
Cherokee, Houston, and Trinity counties, is represented by the 
Hon. Levi Lloyd, a native of Perry County, Alabama, born Juno 
6, 1836. He was a member of the house of the Twenty-second 
and Twenty-third Texas Legislatures, and was a member of the 
Legislature of his native State in 1859 and 1860. He is a physi¬ 
cian; a Democrat; was a gallant Confederate soldier and officer; 
has a family; is a member of the M. E. church, the Masonic order, 
Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias. He is chairman of 
the Committee on Public Health and Vital Statistics, and serves 
on other committees. 

HON M. P. McOHEE. 

Marshall. 

Senator M. P. McGhee represents the 8th senatorial district, 
composed of the counties of Harrison, Eusk, Shelby, and Panola, 
He was born in Panola County, Texas, April 21, 1867. He was 
elected to the Twenty-sixth senate, and his service in the Twenty- 
seventh body is the concluding work of his four years^ term. He 
is an able young lawyer and a stanch supporter of Democracy. 
He has a family. He is a Knight of Pythias. Senator McGhee 
is chairman of the Committee on Insurance, Statistics and History, 
and serves on Judiciary No. 2, Finance, Contingent Expenses, and 
others. 


HON. D. McNEILL TUENER. 

Corpus Christi. 

The Hon. D. McNeill Turner represents the 23d senatorial dis¬ 
trict, composed of Webb, Encinal, Nueces, San Patricio, Aransas, 
Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Zapata counties. He was born at 
Tallahassee, Fla., November 24, 1854. Senator Turner served in 
the Twenty-fifth Legislature, representing the 87th legislative dis¬ 
trict in the house. He is a lawyer; a Democrat; has a family of 
four children; is a member of the Presbyterian church. He is 
chairman of Committee on Federal Relations, and serves on 
Judiciary No. 2 and seven other important committees. 


80 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HO]^. WILLIAM D. YETT. 

Marble Falls. 

The 20th senatorial district, composed of Travis, Williamson,, 
and Burnet counties, is represented by the Hon. Wm. D. Yett, 
who served in the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Legislatures. 
He was born in Burnet County, Texas, February 24, 1854. Sena¬ 
tor Yett is a physician; a Democrat; has a family, and is a mem¬ 
ber of the M. E. church. He is chairman of the Committee on 
Asylums and serves on committees: Finance, Public Health, 
Mines and Irrigation, Insurance, Statistics and History, Koads, 
Bridges and Ferries, and Counties and County Boundaries. 


HOY. WILLIAM A. HAYGER. 

Fort Worth. 

The ^Oth senatorial district—Tarrant, Parker, Hood, and 
Somervell counties—is represented in the Twenty-seventh Legis¬ 
lature by the Hon. W. A. Hanger. He was born in Tarrant 
County, Texas, October 9, 1869. He is a lawyer; a Democrat; 
has a family; is chairman of Committee on Judicial Districts, and 
serves on committees: Judiciary Yo. 1, State Affairs, Constitu¬ 
tional Amendments, Military Affairs, and Rules. 


HOY. ARCH. GRIYYAY. 

Brownwood. 

The Hon. Arch. Grinnan was elected to the Twenty-sixth senate 
from the 26th senatorial district, composed of Brown and eight 
other counties, and is now serving the latter half of his term as a 
member of the Twenty-seventh senate. He was born in Culpeper 
County, Virginia, March 6, 1868. He is a lawyer; Democrat; 
Knight of Pythias; member of the Baptist church, and is 
married. He is chairman of the Committee on Mining and Irri¬ 
gation, and serves on Judiciary Yo. 1 and other committees. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


81 


HON. THEODOKE HARRIS. 

San Antonio. 

The 24th senatorial district, composed of the counties of Bexar, 
Medina, Bandera, Kendall, Kerr, and Gillespie, is represented by 
the Hon. Theodore Harris of San Antonio. Senator Harris is a 
native of Missouri; aged about 41 years; is a lawyer; a Democrat; 
has been a citizen of Texas about six years. He serves on standing 
senate committees as follows: Chairman of two committees—Mil¬ 
itary Attairs and Apportionment; and member of Judiciary No. 1, 
Educational Affairs, Public Lands and Land Office, Federal Rela¬ 
tions, State Asylums, and Towns and City Corporations. 


HON. ASBURY B. DAVIDSON. 

CUERO. 

Senator Asbury B. Davidson represents the 22d senatorial dis¬ 
trict, composed of De Witt and thirteen other counties of south¬ 
west Texas. He was elected in 1898 to serve the four years em¬ 
bracing the sessions of the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Legis¬ 
latures. He is a native of Lincoln County, Tennessee; is a lawyer; 
a Democrat; is a Mason of the Knight Templar degree, and has a 
family. He is chairman of the Committee on Constitutional 
Amendments, and serves as a member of six other committees. 


HON. D. F. GOSS. 

Seymour. 

Senator D. F. Goss was born at Rockwall, Texas, April 25, 1855. 
He was elected to represent the 29th senatorial district, composed 
of forty-nine counties (including the entire Panhandle of Texas) 
in 1894, and serving in the Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth, and 
Twenty-sixth Legislatures, is now representing the same district 
in the Twenty-seventh senate. He is a lawyer of ability and a 
stanch Democrat. He has a family and is a member of the Chris¬ 
tian church. He is chairman of Committee on Stock and Stock- 
raising, and a member of Judiciary No. 2, Constitutional Amend¬ 
ments, Educational Affairs, Public Lands and Land Office, and 
Rules. 


6—Gov’t. 


82 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON. CHAELES A. WHEELEE. 

Bonham, 

The 3d senatorial district, composed of Lamar and Fannin 
counties, is represented by Senator Charles A. Wheeler, a native of 
Kentucky, born in Barren County, January 23, 1861. He is a 
lawyer; Democrat; has a family, and is a member of the order of 
Odd Fellows. He is chairman of the Committee on Privileges 
and Elections, and serves on Judiciary No. 1, Public Lands and 
Land Office, Labor, State Affairs, Asylums, and others. 


HON. SIDNEY LEE STAPLES. 

Smithville, 

The 19th senatorial district, composed of Washington, Bastrop, 
Burleson, and Lee counties, is represented by the Hon. S. L. 
Staples, a native of Kentucky, born at Madisonville, September 13, 
1868. He served in the Twenty-hfth and Twenty-sixth Legisla¬ 
tures as a member of the house. He is a lawyer; a Democrat; is 
unmarried; is chairman of Committee on Labor, and serves on 
Judiciary No. 1 and Education. 
























THE HOUSE. 


HOX. K. fl PRIXCK. 

Corsicana. 

The Hon. R. E. Prince, speaker of the house of representatives, 
was member of the Twenty-sixth house and speaker pro tern there¬ 
of; was permanent chairman of the Waco State Democratic Con¬ 
vention of 1900; was delegate from Texas to the x4nti-Trust Con¬ 
vention held at Chicago in 1899, and to the National Democratic 
Convention that met in Chicago in 1892. 


HON. WILLIAM D. ADAIP. 

Huntsville. 

The Hon. Wm. D. Adair of Huntsville represents the 38th legis¬ 
lative district, composed of the counties of Walker, Montgomery, 
and Trinity. He was born at Sherron, Miss., March 12, 1847. His 
grandfather, Zadoc Adair, was originally from South Carolina, of 
which State he was a native, but in 1849 he removed to Texas, 
settling near Crockett, in Houston County, where his first wife, 
formerly Miss Sarah Kelley, who was grandmother of the subject 
of this sketch, died about the year 1855. His maternal grand¬ 
father, Lemuel De Berry, born in Virginia, 1751, was twice mar¬ 
ried. He died at his home in South Carolina, May 12, 1817. His 
first wife. Miss Henrietta Polk, v/as a near relative of James K. 
Polk. His second wife was originally Miss Delphia Ellis, who was 
the grandmother of Mr. Adair on this family side. She was born 
in Pitts County, South Carolina, January 17, 1781, and died 
March 12, 1847, at Sherron, Miss. Wyman Adair, the father of 
William D., a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, was born Febru¬ 
ary 22, 1805, at Sherron, Miss., and died at Prairie Plains, Texas, 
in 1853. The mother of William D., prior to her marriage to his 
father, was Miss Delphia Stanton De Berry, who died at Navasota, 
Texas, January 30, 1881. 

Wm. D. Adair was educated at Austin College, Huntsville, now 



84 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


the Sam Houston Normal. He first farmed near Huntsville, in 
which place he has lived since his majority. He served as city 
marshal of Huntsville for five years. In 1878 and 1879 he mer¬ 
chandised at Huntsville, and in 1880 was elected sheriff of Walker 
County, Texas, serving three terms. He was elected tax collector 
of the latter county in 1886 and served six terms. Declining to 
run again, he was made chairman of the Walker County Demo¬ 
cratic Executive Committee, which position he still holds. 

For twenty-three years past W. D. Adair has been an active and 
efficient public official of HuntsvilJe and Walker County. He is 
a quiet, unassuming, kind-hearted, liberal man, yet one of very 
decided force of character Avith a clear and correct judgment, and 
a conscientious regard for the feelings and rights of others. His 
public duties in various official positions have made him familiarly 
acquainted with his felloAv-citizens, and they have never failed to 
award him any position to which he aspired. As chairman of the 
Democratic Executive Committee he has discharged his duties most 
satisfactorily, resuliing in the greatest Democratic victories in the 
county. He has rescued his county from a doubtful political one 
to a certain Democratic county. He has attended all county, dis¬ 
trict, and State conventions of his party for years. In his race 
in 1900 for the house of representatives Mr. Adair was opposed 
in the primaries by an ex-member of the house of representatives. 
He carried the largest two counties. He had practically no oppo¬ 
sition in the general election, although there Avere three third 
party candidates in the field against him and his colleague. He 
is the author of house bill 270, which provides the attachment of 
an industrial feature to the Sam Houston Normal, at Huntsville. 
He favors State elections every four years instead of every two 
years as at present, and the United States senators elected by a 
direct vote of the people. Mr. Adair served in the Confederate 
army in Company K, Brown’s regiment, Avhich regiment remained 
in Texas during the Civil War. 

W. D. Adair was married January 31, 1884, to Miss Kate Nor¬ 
ton of Austin, Texas. She died at Huntsville, March 12, 1886. 
His present wife, before her marriage to him, Avas Miss Lula Nors- 
Avorthy of Houston, Texas. By the present wife he has two chil¬ 
dren—Katie and Louise. Mr. Adair is a Mason, being a member 
of Forest lodge No. 19, and San Jacinto chapter No. 7, as aatII as 
Trinity commandery. He is also a member of Knights of Honor, 
Knights and Ladies of Honor, and Knights of Pytliias, all at 
Huntsville. 

He serves on the following committees: Education, State Af¬ 
fairs, and Public Debt. 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


85 


mm. LEWIS WAKKEN ALLRED. 

Fair Play. 

The 27th legislative district, composed of the counties of Panola 
and Rusk, is represented in the present Legislature by the Hon. 
L. W. Allred of Fair Play. He was born at Fair Play, Panola 
County, Texas, May 30, 1870. He is the son of Seymore Allred 
and Mrs. ^^ancy (Thompson) Allred. His grandfather, Stephen 
Allred, was one of the first settlers of Panola County. He was a 
surveyor and laid out the town of Pine Hill in that county, and 
was the first commissioned justice of the peace in that section of 
the State. Mr. Allred^s father is still living, but his mother died 
in 1879, and is buried at Fair Play. 

He was educated at Rock Hill Institute, in Rusk County, Texas, 
and took the highest course of that school. Lt'aving school he 
became a teacher, and engaged first at East Barnard, Wharton 
County, where he taught one year, and then returning to his home 
county he has since taught seven years at Fair Play, the town of 
his nativity. ]\Ir. Allred has been a student at law for some years 
and has for a long time been ready for the bar, but until the pres¬ 
ent time circumstances have prevented his beginning its practice. 
He will now enter the practice of law and make it his future life 
pursuit. He has attended numerous local conventions of the 
Democratic party and has usually taken an active interest in home 
politics. He is unmarried; is a member of the Presbyterian 
church, and belongs to the Masonic and W. 0. W. fraternities. He 
serves on standing committees as follows: Judiciary Xo. 2, Pri¬ 
vate Land Claims, Judicial Districts, and Penitentiaries, and has 
been appointed on a special committee to visit the various State 
asylums. 

Mr. Allred came to the regular session of the present Legislature 
as a young and inexperienced lawmaker, notwithstanding which 
his district is being well represented, and if he so desires, his 
constituency should return him to the Twenty-eighth Legislature. 

HOX. W. M. BLALOCK. 

Marshall. 

The subject of this sketch, the Hon. W. M. Blalock, was born 
in Harrison County, Texas, August 21, 1851. His grandfather. 


86 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Charles Blalock, was a native of North Carolina, and traced his 
ancestry back to the early settlement of Virginia. He came to 
Texas in an early day, settled in Harrison County, died there, and 
is buried in the Price cemetery, near Marshall. His paternal 
grandmother, Mrs. Sarah (Brazier) Blalock, was married to his 
grandfather about 1790. 

The father of Mr. Blalock, E. W. Blalock, was horn in North 
Carolina, but was raised in northern Alabama. He came to Har¬ 
rison County, Texas, in 1847, where he lived till his death, which 
occurred in 1883. He is buried beside or near his father. Mrs. 
Emily C. (Price) Blalock, the mother of the subject of this 
sketch, was born and reared in eastern Tennessee, and married, in 
1837, to Mr. E. W. Blalock. She is buried beside her husband. 

Mr. Blalock received his education in the schools of Texas and 
finished at the Marshall High School. He is a farmer, and has 
farmed all his life at the old homestead where he was born. 

In politics he is Democratic, and has attended numerous con¬ 
ventions of his party. He represents Harrison County, the 21st 
legislative district, in the house of the Twenty-seventh Legisla¬ 
ture, and has never held any office except that of constable of a 
Harrison County bailiwick, for one term, in 1878. 

Mr. Blalock has been married twice, the first time, November 
12, 1880, to Miss Sallie Everett of Freestone County, who died 
December 18, 1881. His second marriage was to Miss Willie H. 
Boothe of Lamar County. Of this latter union there have been 
six children born, viz., Horace Chilton, Jessie H., Myron G., 
Charles S., William Bryan, and one other, an infant. The eldest 
of these is but fourteen years of age. 

Mr. Blalock is a member of the M. E. Church South; is a 
Mason, and is well known as one of the first members and also as 
an officer of the Patrons of Husbandry, and of the State Grange. 

He is a member of the following committees of the house: 
Public Health and Vital Statistics, Privileges and Elections, Pub¬ 
lic Buildings and Grounds, Agricultural Affairs, and Military 
Affairs, and has also been on special committees to visit the Bee- 
ville experimental station, the penitentiaries, and the convict 
farms. 

As an evidence of his popularity with his people, he received 
almost as many votes in the primaries as were cast for all three 
of his opponents. His devotion to his people as a member of the 
State Legislature has proved this confidence not to have been 
misplaced, and has endeared him to them all the more. 




TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


87 


HON. WILLIAM W. BRIDGEES. 

El Paso. 

The subject of this sketch, Hon. William W. Bridgers, ably rep¬ 
resents the 96th district, composed of El Paso and six other large 
western counties, in the Twenty-seventh Legislature. 

His father was a photographer, and moved to Texas from Ten¬ 
nessee before the Civil war. He settled at Austin and lived there, 
honored and respected by all, until his death in 1880. 

The mother of the subject of this sketch, Mrs. Melissa (Tinsley) 
Bridgers, is a South Carolinian by birth, and is one of the four 
surviving daughters of the Revolutionary war. She is 63 years 
of age, and lives at El Paso. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Montgomery, Montgom¬ 
ery County, Texas, November 6, 1869. He received his education 
in the schools of Travis County. After leaving school he became 
a printer, at which trade he worked for about fifteen years, in 
Austin and El Paso. Later he went into the newspaper business, 
and made an excellent reputation as editor and publisher of the 
Bowie Daily Blade. This character he well sustained in his later 
publication of the El Paso Daily Graphic. From the newspaper 
profession he went into the practice of law, and is now one of the 
leading attorneys of the enterprising city of his home on the Rio 
Grande-. He was married at Bowie, Texas, June 16, 1895, to Miss 
Victoria Bradley, and of this union there is one child—Sarah 
Elizabeth. 

Before his election to the Legislature he served two years, from 
1896 to 1898, as one of the justices of the peace of El Paso County. 
In 1898 he was elected to Twenty-sixth Legislature from the 96th 
representative district, comprising the counties of El Paso, Presi¬ 
dio, Jeff Davis, Brewster, Pecos, Val Verde, Kinney, and Maverick. 
He was nominated the first time over two opponents and defeated 
the opposition in the general election by about 1800, and so ably 
did he serve his constituency that in the last election, although 
his district is about evenly divided between the Democratic and 
Republican parties, he was given a second term without any oppo¬ 
sition whatever. 

He takes a laudable interest in politics; has been a delegate to 
the local and State conventions, and as a member of the Legisla¬ 
ture has been conservative and given his aid and encouragement 
to the financial and commercial development of Texas. 

He is chairman of the Committee on Enrolled Bills, and a mem- 


88 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


ber of the following committees: Land and Land Office, Asylums, 
Mines and Minerals, and Labor. 

Mr. Bridgers is yet a young man, able, industrious, and honor¬ 
able, and the 96th district did well in committing her interests to 
his care and watchful keeping. 


HON^. BEX. A. CALHOUN. 

Chireno. 

Ben. A. Calhoun, contractor, builder, and farmer, was a member 
of the house of representatives of the Twenty-third, and is now a 
member of the Twenty-seventh Texas Legislature. He represents 
the 32d legislative district, composed of Nacogdoches County. He 
was born at or near Calhouffis Mills, S. C., May 22, 1849. His 
grandfather, Patrick Calhoun, was a planter and slave owner, liv¬ 
ing and dying in Abbeville district. South Carolina, near Calhouffis 
Mills. 

Frank A. Calhoun, the father of the subject of this sketch, was 
born and brought up near Calhoun's Mills, S. C., and pursued the 
occupation of a farmer. He lived all his life there, and died there 
in 1866. He married Miss Lou Jones, a native of Elberton, Ga. 
She died in Augusta, Ga., in 1878. 

Ben. A. Calhoun received his education partly at the common 
schools of South Carolina, and also took an academic course, which 
was not completed on account of the Civil war. After the close 
of the war he farmed in Abbeville district for four years. In 1870 
he went to farming and contracting in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, 
and continued there for three years. He then came to Texas and 
settled near Chireno, Nacogdoches County, where he has resided 
ever since, owning and operating at different times two sawmills 
there, but is now building, contracting, and farming. 

Mr. Calhoun is a Populist. He had been a Democrat until 1890, 
and up to that time attended some of the State Democratic con¬ 
ventions, and all county and district conventions of that party. 
As a Populist he ran for Congress twice, was a delegate to two or 
three State conventions, and all the county and district conventions 
of the latter party. In the fall of 1896 Mr. Calhoun made 
speeches for Mr. Bryan, principally in the eastern part of the 
State. He also spoke once for Bryan in Louisiana, and once in 
Arkansas. 

Mr. Calhoun represented Nacogdoches County in the house in 
the Twenty-third Legislature. In that race he had no opponent 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


89 


in the primaries, but in the general election he had a Democratic 
opponent, a former member of the house of representatives, whom 
he defeated by a majority of about 500 votes. In his race in 1900 
he had two opponents in the Populist primaries, but he heat the 
leading man about five to one. In the general election he defeated 
a Democratic opponent by 180 votes. Mr. Calhoun was a strong 
advocate of legislation for the advancement of morality, especially 
in the line of stringent enactments on the crime of seduction and 
bigamy. 

Ben. A. Calhoun was married to Miss Josephine Tucker, near 
Chireno, Texas, May 8, 1874. The fruits of this marriage were 
ten children. Of these two are dead; one died in infancy; the 
other, Ben Patrick, died when about eight years old. The living 
are: Miss Ettie, lAank J., Carry Lou, De Bruhl, Edward D., 
Floried, Yneta Josephine, and little Kate. Mr. Calhoun is a 
member of the Church of Christ. He served on the following 
house committees: Judiciary Ko. 2, Public Buildings and 
Grounds, Public Debt, and Labor. 

Though politically antagonistic, Mr. Calhoun commands the 
highest esteem of his fellow-members, and in the exercise of a 
patriotic spirit of conservatism, may always be found on the safe 
side of proposed legislation. 


HON. JOHN CUNNINGHAM. 

Ravenna. 

The subject of this sketch is a physician and farmer, and was 
horn in Trigg County, Kentucky, September 21, 1836. His 
grandfather, William Cunningham, a native of Scotland, came to 
America about 1780 and settled in Albemarle County, Virginia. 
In 1818 he moved to Trigg Count}^, Kentucky, with the subject's 
father, where he died about 1820. His grandfather on his 
mothePs side, Moses Gresham, came to America also about 1780 
and settled in the Old Dominion. About 1810 he moved to Trigg 
County, Kentucky, where he died, about 1815. 

The father of the subject of this sketch, John Cunningham, Sr., 
was a farmer, a colonel of militia in Kentucky, and also a magis¬ 
trate in that State, and died in Trigg County, Kentucky, in 1854. 
His mother, Mrs. Mary (Gresham) Cunningham, died in Trigg 
County, Kentucky, about 1880. 

Dr. Cunningham obtained his literary training in the common 
schools of Kentucky and at Bethel College, of Russellville, Ky. 


90 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


He attended the St. Louis (Mo.) Medical College, and also the 
Galveston Medical College, from which latter institution he re¬ 
ceived his second medical diploma in 1873. He practiced medi¬ 
cine in Trigg County, Kentucky, until the breaking out of the 
Civil war, when he helped to organize and was elected first lieuten¬ 
ant of Company G, of the Fourth Kentucky infantry. His com¬ 
pany was a part of General John C. Breckenridge^s brigade which, 
besides other severe engagements, fought two days in the battle of 
Shiloh. The regiment went into battle with 900 and came out 
with only 450 men. His company (G) was then consolidated with 
other companies. He resigned, and was assistant surgeon for 
awhile on Lookout Mountain. He then went with Bragg^s in¬ 
vasion of Kentucky, and while there he helped to organize a cav¬ 
alry company of which he was elected second lieutenant, and was 
a few months after elected captain. In the course of time he was 
captured and confined at Kashville, Tenn., Camp Chase, Ohio, and 
Fortress Monroe. He came to Texas after the war in 1867, a 
moneyless tramp, and walked from Jefferson, Texas, to Kentucky- 
town, now in Grayson County. He located near the present town 
of Ravenna, Fannin County, wherrj he has been practicing medi¬ 
cine ever since. He now owns and runs several farms in that 
section. He has been road overseer, school trustee, and also aider- 
man and mayor of Ravenna. He attended as delegate the State 
conventions which nominated Ross, Hogg, and Culberson for Gov¬ 
ernor. He is an earnest Democrat, and was elected to fill the un¬ 
expired term of the late much lamented Hon. W. W. Riddling, who 
died in Austin at his post of duty during the regular session of 
the Twenty-seventh Legislature. He was opposed in his race by 
two active opponents, whom he defeated by a majority of 950 
votes. Dr. Cunningham was also a member of the Thirteenth 
house of representatives of 1873, to which body he was elected by 
a majority of 600. 

He was first married in Trigg County, Kentucky, in 1859, to 
Miss Annie Olivia Patterson, and by this union there was born 
one child—Byron B. Cunningham. He was married the second 
time to Miss Fannie Agnew, daughter of Allen Agnew of Fannin 
County. By this second union there were born three children— 
Henry Allen, Annie Laurie, and William Murray. Dr. Cunning¬ 
ham believes in the precepts of the Christian religion. He is not 
dogmatic, but liberal toward all others in according them freedom 
of belief as to religion and politics, believing there are Christians 
in all churches and patriots in all political parties. He does not 
pose as an orator nor as a statesman, only claiming to be a plain 
farmer and retired country physician. He is the author of 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


91 


“Reminiscences of the Great War/^ which promises to be a very 
readable work. It will contain, interspersed, all of the original 
Confederate poems and a great number of portrait engravings. 
It details the humorous as well as the daring, courageous, and 
pathetic events of the great struggle between the North and South, 
and will be ready for publication soon. 

Dr. Cunningham is a prominent member of both the Masonic 
and the Odd Fellow fraternities. He serves on the following 
committees: County Government and County Finances, Agricul¬ 
tural Affairs, Federal Relations, Stock and Stock Raising. 

Dr. Cunningham is one of the links which bind us to a glorious 
past. He is an affable gentleman, ripe with honors, experience, 
and wisdom, and his devotion to principle and duty as a member 
of the Twenty-seventh Legislature is but a continuation of his life- 
history which has so endeared him to his people. 


HON. THOMAS T. CONNALLY. 

Maelin. 

The Hon. Thomas T. Connally, an attorney at law, residing at 
Marlin, Texas, is a delegate serving in the house of representatives 
of the Twenty-seventh Legislature. He represents the 22d legis¬ 
lative district, composed of the counties of Falls, Milam, and Wil¬ 
liamson. He was born in McLennan County, Texas, August 19, 
1877. His grandfather, Thomas Connally, was born in Georgia, 
in which State he served in the Legislature, and subsequently, for 
several terms, was sheriff of his county. He died in Murray 
County, Georgia, in 1878. His maternal grandfather, the Rev. 
Joseph Terry, a Baptist minister, was also a native of Georgia, 
born in 1812. In 1870 he removed from Georgia to Texas and 
settled in Brazos County. He died at Milano, Texas, in 1880. 
James Connally, father of the subject of this sketch, left Murray 
County, Georgia, his native place, in 1859, and came to Texas, 
settling in Brazos County. He removed from Brazos to McLen¬ 
nan County, near Waco, in 1873, but later settled near Eddy, in 
Falls County, where he and Mrs. Connally, mother of Representa¬ 
tive Connally, still reside. 

Mr. Connally was graduated from Baylor University wdth the 
degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1896. and in 1898 he was graduated 
from the University of Texas with the degree of LL. B. After 
completing his law course he located at Waco, but soon removed to 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Marlin, where he settled permanently, practicing law as a member 
of the firm of Finks & Connally. 

Mr. Connally is a Democrat, and since he became of age he 
has attended all county and State conventions of his party. He 
was nominated for his seat in the house without opposition in the 
primaries, and he had no opposing candidate in the general elec¬ 
tion. He is unmarried; is a member of the college fraternity, Fhi 
Delta Theta, and is a Knight of Pythias. He serves on the follow¬ 
ing standing house committees: Judiciary Ko. 1, State Affairs, 
Military Affairs, Counties and County Boundaries, and Enrolled 
Bills. 


HON. PHILIP M. CUNY. 

Brookshire. 

Waller and Fort Bend counties, composing the 41st legislative 
district, are represented in the Twenty-seventh Legislature by the 
Hon. Philip M. Cuny of Brookshire. He is a native of Texas, 
born in Austin County, October 10, 1843. His grandfather, also 
Philip M. Cuny, left his native home in France and came to this 
country about the year 1776, and was here during the war of the 
Eevolution. He left France on account of his pronounced senti¬ 
ments as a Huguenot, and on coming to America settled at Alexan¬ 
dria, La., where, after many years residence as a citizen, he died. 
At this Louisiana home of the grandfather, Philip M. Cuny, Sr., 
father of the subject of this sketch, was born. He was reared in 
Lis native State, but in 1839 he came to Texas and settled in 
Austin County, from which time until his death, in 1866, he took 
active part in the governmental affairs of his adopted country. 
He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1845 that 
formulated the plan under which Texas was annexed to the United 
States, and was a member of the Texas senate in 1848. Mrs. Eliza 
L. (Ware) Cuny, wife of Philip M. Cuny, Sr., and mother of the 
■subject of this sketch, died in Austin County in 1848. 

The Hon. Phil M. Cuny was educated at Bastrop Military In¬ 
stitute, Bastrop, Texas, and at Virginia Military Institute, Lexing¬ 
ton, Va. On leaving school he returned to Texas and engaged in 
the business of farming and stock raising, which has been his 
principal life pursuit. He resided about six years in Houston, 
Texas, and about eleven or twelve years in Austin, Texas, during 
the latter time being engaged as a clerk in the General Land 
Office. Notwithstanding his temporary nonresidence, he has 
never broken relations with his original business interests, located 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


93 

near the home of his boyhood, nor has his citizenship ever been 
severed from the constituency he now represents. 

Mr. Cnny was sent to the Legislature without opposition in his 
own party, receiving the unanimous primary vote; but in the gen¬ 
eral election he was opposed by the Hon. A. C. Tompkins, who 
had already served three terms in the house from the 41st district, 
and notwithstanding this district is predominantly Republican, he 
defeated Mr. Tompkins by a majority of 418 votes. 

Mr. Cuny served as a Confederate soldier. He was mustered 
into service at Hempstead on May 3, 18G2, a private in Company 
D, Twenty-fourth Texas regiment, which served in Granbury^s 
brigade, Cleburne^s division, Hardee’s corps. Army of Tennessee, 
and surrendered, with General Joseph E. Johnston, at Greensboro, 
X. C. He served with distinction, participating in all the battles 
and skirmishes in which his command was brought to engage. He 
was wounded, though not dangerously, at the battle of Franklin,. 
Tenn. He entered the service as a private, was made sergeant 
major of the regiment, afterw'ards promoted by the war depart¬ 
ment to the rank of lieutenant for gallantry and meritorious con¬ 
duct, and at the surrender was in command of his regiment. 

He was married in Austin (now Waller) County, Texas, March 
4, 1867, to Miss Mary B. Waller, daughter of the late Judge Edwin 
Waller, for whom the county of Waller is named. Judge Waller 
was the first mayor of the city of Austin, Texas. He laid oft and 
named all the streets of the city, and supervised the erection of all 
its first public buildings. Mrs. Cuny died in Austin, Texas, in 
1882. Mr. Cuny was afterwards married to Miss Sallie Daniels 
of Sherman, Texas. By his first marriage he has three children,— 
two daughters, married, Mrs. George H. Wray and Mrs. E. J. 
Archenard, and one son, Philip Waller, who has just reached his 
majority. By his second marriage he has three sons—Eugene S., 
Clifford De Bray, and Parker. Ho is a member of the Methodist 
church, and belongs to the Masonic fraternity. He serves on the 
following legislative committees: Penitentiaries, Public Lands 
and Land Office, Commerce and Manufactures, Claims and Ac¬ 
counts, Towns and City Corporations, Privileges and Elections, 
and Public Buildings and Grounds. 

Mr. Cuny has devoted his principal labors during the session 
toward the enactment of measures tending to the relief of sufferers 
in the Gulf-flooded district. He is very popular with his fellow 
representatives, and is considered by them an able legislator. 


94 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


OF JUDGE EDWIN WALLER. 

Apropos to reference made to Judge Waller in the foregoing 
sketch of the Hon. Phil. M. Cuny, the publishers hereof, with pleas¬ 
ure, would do honor to his memory by inserting the following: 

Judge Waller was a native of Virginia, born in Spottsylvania 
County in the year 1800. When quite a young man he came South 
to New Orleans, where he purchased and equipped the Sabine, a 
trading vessel, that later entered the carrying trade between New 
Orleans and Velasco, Texas. This enterprise brought him to Texas 
and into association with the two Whartons, W. J. Russell, and 
others, acting with whom he became one of the moving spirits on 
the side of “war,'' as it meant the proper course of resistance to 
Mexican tyranny and oppression. It is historic that from the deck 
of the Sabine, as under Judge Waller's orders she was running 
the blockade at Velasco, the first Mexican wounded in the Texas 
revolution was shot by young Sper.cer Jack, who was on board at 
the time. Soon after this event Judge Waller was at the storm¬ 
ing and capture of Fort Velasco, and thenceforward, as soldier or 
statesman, he, in rank or in council, gave his services to Texas. 
He was one of the framers and signers of the Texas Constitution 
and Declaration of Independence, his name being third on the 
list. After rendering energetic aid' in every way to the cause of 
the revolutionists, following their successful effort, he was ap¬ 
pointed to select the site of its capital, and was made Postmaster- 
General of the new Republic. 

The same spirit that animated him at Velasco to move in the 
cause of Texas independence again actuated him in 1861, when the 
people of Texas were called to declare continued allegiance to or 
severance from the United States. He was a member of the con¬ 
vention that passed the ordinance of secession, and was the first to 
sign it. In the struggle that followed, his three score years caused 
him to yield his place on the field to younger men. His son and 
namesake, Colonel Edwin Waller, raised a regiment known as the 
Waller battalion, which, as a gallant Confederate officer, he com¬ 
manded during the war. Colonel Waller survived the war and was 
married to Miss Julia P. Ferguson of Fort Bend County. As a 
prosperous merchant in Waller County he lived as a private citizen 
until his death, about fifteen years ago. His wife, Mrs. Julia P. 
Waller, is yet living, and now resides at Austin. The name Edwin 
Waller is still preserved as the possession of a son of Colonel 
Waller and grandson of Judge Waller. He is a young man about 
30 years of age, a native of Fort Bend County, who, with the energy 
and enterprise characteristic of his honored antecedents, has al- 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


95 


ready gained prominence as a young citizen of sterling worth to his 
community and section. After leaving the University of Texas, 
where his pursuit of education was concluded, he became much 
interested in an undertaking to improve the lower Brazos, and was 
elected chairman of the Brazos navigation convention of Brazoria 
County. He was mayor of Quintana for several terms and was 
postmaster of that place during ClevelanTs administration. His 
home is still in Brazoria County, but at present he is a temporary 
resident of Austin and is connected with the Comptroller's depart¬ 
ment in State service. Judge Waller died at Austin, Texas, about 
twenty years ago. With other names Texas will ever be called to 
honor, his is to be recorded. 


HON. DAVTS E. DECKEK. 
Quanaii. 


The Hon. Davis. E. Decker, a practicing lawyer at Quanah, 
Texas, born near Athens, Henderson County, Texas, July 9, 1866, 
represents in the Twenty-seventh Legislature the 102d legislative 
district, composed of thirty-six counties in the Panliandle, which is 
the largest area in the State or United States composing a single 
representative district. 

His paternal grandfather emigrated from Holland to New York 
about the time of the Eevolutionary war and settled near Ellen- 
ville, N. Y., where he died. His maternal grandfather, Evan 
Thompson, a farmer and merc'hant, was born and brought up in 
Henderson County, Tennessee, but removed to Texas in the forties 
and settled in Henderson County, Texas, later removing to Eusk 
County, where he died. His father, John T. Decker, a mechanic, 
was born in the State of New York, but came to Texas in 1854 
and settled at Pine Grove, Henderson County, Texas, where he 
died. The mother of Mr. Decker, Mrs. Nila (Thompson) Decker, 
is a daughter of Evan Thompson of Henderson County, Tennessee. 
She is still living. Mr. Decker was graduated from the South¬ 
western University, Georgetown, Texas, with the degree of Bachelor 
of Arts in the class of 1888. After his graduation he read law 
and was admitted to the bar at Midland, Texas, in 1888, and the 
next year he moved to Quanah, Texas, where he now resides and 
where he has been practicing law ever since. He served as county, 
attorney for Hardeman County for two years, in 1894 and 1895; 
served as district attorney of the 46th judicial district, represent¬ 
ing quite a large number of Panhandle counties, in 1896 and 1897. 


96 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Mr. Decker is a Democrat. He was a delegate to the Galveston 
convention of the Democratic party that nominated Mr. Sayers- 
for Governor the first time, and he was also a delegate to the 
Austin convention that instructed for Mr. Bryan the last time, and 
he has also been a delegate to the district conventions in the Pan¬ 
handle. He was a member of the house of representatives of the 
Twenty-sixth Legislature. In both instances he was elected with¬ 
out opposition in either the primaries or the general election. 

He is married, having a wife and two children. He is a Meth¬ 
odist, Royal Arch Mason, past chancellor in the Knights of Pythias 
lodge, a member of the Phi Delta Theta college fraternity. He 
serves on the following house committees: Chairman Committee 
on State Affairs, member of Judiciary Xo. 1, Rules, Public Lands 
and Land Office, and Immigration. 

The large territory represented by Mr. Decker embraces many 
conflicting interests; this is especially so, as it relates to the welfare, 
respectively, of the wealthy stockmen, as lessees, and the actual 
settlers of his district. In matters of legislation pertaining to 
these varied interests Mr. Decker has fearlessly stood for the 
actual settler, and it is due to his able advocacy that the territory 
within the lease line will be contracted. The masses composing his 
constituency have in him an earnest and conscientious representa¬ 
tive. 


HOX. WILLIAM W. DILLARD. 

De Kalb. 

The Hon. William W. Dillard, lawyer and farmer, residing at 
De Kalb, Texas, until he resigned his seat in that body, represented 
the 1st legislative district, composed of the county of Bowie, in 
the Twenty-seventh Legislature of Texas. Mr. Dillard was born 
in Sumter County, Alabama, October 20, 1836. His grandfather, 
John J. Dillard, was a physician and lived and died at Lynchburg, 
Va. His maternal grandfather. Colonel A. A. Winston, a farmer 
and trader, lived and died at Gainesville, Sumter County, Alabama. 
His father was Dr. J. J. Dillard, who lived near Gainesville, Sum¬ 
ter County, Alabama, and died there in 1850. His mother, who 
was Miss Nancy Jones Winston previous to her marriage to Dr. 
J. J. Dillard, survived her husband about twenty-five years, dying 
at the old homestead in Sumter County, Alabama, in 1875. 

Mr. Dillard was educated at La Grange College, Alabama, from 
which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 
June, 1856. He studied law and was graduated from Judge Mon- 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


97 


roe^s law school, near Frankfort, Ky., in 1858. The same year 
he came to Harrison County, Texas, and married in that year 
Miss Mary J. Swanson of that county. 

Mr. Dillard enlisted as a Confederate soldier in Company A, 
Third Texas cavalry, organized at Dallas, Texas, June 13, 1861, 
and was commissioned lieutenant of cavalry. At Corinth, in 1862, 
at the reorganization of the army, he left that command and re¬ 
turned to Texas with Colonel Lane and others and assisted him in 
raising Lane’s regiment of partisan cavalry, with which he served 
as lieutenant and acting captain of cavalry until the close of the 
war. 

After the war Captain Dillard engaged in speculating. In 1867 
he began farming in Harrison County, but soon went to visit his 
mother in Alabama and remained there two years. He returned 
to Texas in 1869, and in 1870 settled at De Kalb, in Bowie 
County, where he has since resided. He was a member of the con¬ 
stitutional convention of 1875, and began the practice of law in 
1880. He was elected county judge in 1890, and after serving two 
years declined to be again a candidate. 

Mr. Dillard is a Democrat and has attended nearly every State 
convention of the party for the last twenty years. In the primaries 
he defeated his opponent in the race for the Legislature by a vote 
of about two to one, but he had no opposition in the general elec¬ 
tion. Mr. Dillard favored the passage of the ^^Hogg amend¬ 
ments.” He believed them to be a Democratic party platform 
demand, but a majority of his Democratic colleagues disagreeing 
with him in this opinion, the measure failed to carry. Considering 
himself no longer in accord with the body he resigned. It is not 
the writer’s privilege here to comment on his resignation, but it 
is safe to say that no criticism of this act by those who differed 
from him, however seemingly harsh at the time, was ever intended 
by them to raise a question concerning his patriotism or loyalty 
to his constituents, no more than it is now believed by them that 
the rather caustic verbiage expressing his desire to withdraw was 
intended as reflection on the personal honor of any individual 
representative. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Odd 
Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and Elks. 

HOK. WILLIAM H. FEAKS. 

Waxahachie. 

The 70th legislative district, composed of Ellis and Johnson 
counties, is represented by the Hon. Wm. H. Fears of Waxahachie. 

7—Gov’t. 


98 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


He is a native of Henry County, Georgia, born March 16, 1854. 
He is of Scotch and Irish lineage, and is descended from old 
Southern families of Virginia and South Carolina who settled in 
those States prior to the Kevolution. His father, Jesse L. Fears, 
was by profession a journalist. He, too, was born in Henry 
County, and lived there until 1859, when he removed to Atlanta, 
where he died about four years later. His mother, prior to her 
marriage to his father, was Miss Mary A. E. Smith, daughter of 
John H. Smith of Henry County, Georgia. She is still living, 
and resides in Navarro County, Texas. 

Mr. Fears was educated in Atlanta, Ga., and in November, 1870, 
after leaving school, came to Texas. He remained in Texas at 
first only a short time, going on west to the Pacific coast, but 
finally returned to Texas and located at Waxahachie. He was 
there in May, 1878, admitted to the bar, where he has been in the 
active practice of his profession ever since. He has always taken 
an interest in local politics, and has been delegated to attend many 
of the district and State conventions. His participation in State 
politics extends back to the time of the State convention which 
nominated Governor 0. M. Roberts for his second term. He was 
chairman of the Ellis County Democratic Executive Committee 
during the memorable prohibition campaign of 1887, and can¬ 
vassed not only his own county but many others of the State, 
making stump speeches in opposition to that movement. With the 
exception of four years service as county attorney of Ellis County, 
from 1892 to 1896, he has never held any other office than that 
of legislative representative. 

In his race for a seat in the Twenty-seventh Legislature, before 
the primaries, he was opposed by several candidates. He carried 
Ellis County, but the Hon. 0. J. Logan, one of his opponents, 
carried Johnson County. The ensuing nominating convention 
adopted the two-third rule, under which neither he nor Mr. Logan 
could secure the nomination. It was agreed that both should be 
turned loose in a free race. In this race Mr. Fears, at the general 
election, received a majority of 2006 votes over his opponent. 

Mr. Fears was married at Waxahachie, July 17, 1889, to Miss 
Annie Moore, daughter of the Hon. John Moore of Ennis, Texas. 
They have one daughter, Annie Leonora. He is a member of the 
M. E. Church South, and is a Knight of Pythias. He serves on 
committees: Judiciary No. 2, Examination Comptroller and 
Treasurers Accounts, Labor, and Railroad Commission. He is 
regarded as being a lawyer of superior ability and a safe and able 
representative of his people. 


* TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


99 


HON. HAMPSON GARY. 

Tyler. 

Representing the 2-itli flotorial district, composed of the counties 
of Smith, Upshur, and Camp, in the Twenty-seventh Texas Legis¬ 
lature, is a young gentleman whose name stands at the head of this 
sketch. The Hon. Hampson Gary is a native Texan, born April 
23, 1873, in the city of Tyler, Smith County. He comes of an old 
South Carolina family, of lawyers, soldiers, and orators. The 
Garys came to America long before the Revolution and settled in 
Buckingham Count}^, Virginia. About the year 1760 they removed 
to Newberry, S. C., and each generation of the family has con¬ 
tributed worthy citizens to all the honorable walks of life in the 
old Palmetto State. 

Mr. Gary's father, Hon. F. N. Gary, born in Newberry, S. C., 
was a captain in the Confederate army (General Hawes' brigade. 
Walker's division) ; was district attorney of the old Tyler and 
East Texas judicial district, and a leader in legal and financial 
circles. Mr. Gary's mother's maiden name was Miss Belle Boren. 
Her parents. Col. S. H. Boren and wife, and her maternal grand¬ 
mother, Mrs. Mary Dickson Long, came from Tennessee to Texas 
in 1836, locating at Nacogdoches, the leading town of the Republic 
of Texas. Mrs. Gary was a lineal descendant of General Joseph 
Dickson of Revolutionary fame. General Dickson was a member 
of Congress from North Carolina when the election of President 
of the United States devolved upon the house, and his vote helped 
to elect Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr by one majority. 

Hampson Gary was educated in the public schools of his home 
and in Bingham School, North Carolina, delivering the valedictory 
at the latter school upon his graduation in 1890. Later he at¬ 
tended the University of Virginia, where he finished his literary 
education and began the study of law. While at this famous in¬ 
stitution of learning, founded by Thomas Jefferson, he was presi¬ 
dent of the Jefferson Literary Society, associate editor of the Uni¬ 
versity Monthly Magazine, editor in chief of the weekly College 
Topics, and editor in chief of the college annual, Corks and Curls. 
In his graduating year the students chose him as presiding officer 
for the finals of 1894, and as such he delivered the opening ad¬ 
dress at the commencement in June and introduced the orators 
of the day, Hon. Chauncey M. Depew of New York, and Hon. 
Adlai E. Stevenson, at the time the Vice-President of the United 
States. 

LofC. 


100 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHED 


Mr. Gary began the practice of law at Tyler in the fall of 1894, 
and his ability and industry being recognized, his advancement 
has been steady and continuous. Upon the breaking out of the 
Spanish-American war and the call for volunteers, Mr. Gary 
organized and was elected captain of the Smith County Eifies, and 
Avith his command was mustered into the Fourth Texas United 
States volunteers. He served nearly a year as captain in the 
United States army, and then upon muster out of his regiment 
he returned to Tyler and again took up the practice of law. 

He has recently been elected lieutenant-colonel of the Third 
Texas infantry of the newly organized State militia. Mr. Gary, 
like all of his family before him, is a stanch Democrat and ahvays 
contends vigorously for Democratic principles and Democratic 
nominees. He has been a delegate to three State conventions of 
the Democratic party and to several congressional and district con¬ 
ventions. He is a good student, an interesting speaker, and a 
lawyer of real ability. Frank, generous, and winning in manner, 
he is liked and respected by all classes. He Avas appointed to 
serve on the following named standing committees: Judiciary 
Ho. 2, Internal Improvements, Eevenue and Taxation, Education, 
Judicial Districts, and Military Affairs. 

It can safely be predicted that at the close of his present term 
of service he Avill return to his home taking with him the highest 
esteem of his legislatiA’^e colleagues, there to meet the commenda¬ 
tion of a faithfully served constituency. 


HOH. ROBElUr \V. GRAY. 
Proctor. 


The Hon. Robert W. Gray, a merchant, who resides at Proctoiv 
Comanche County, Texas, represents the 101st legislatUe district, 
composed of Comanche County, in the house of the Twenty-seventh 
Legislature. R. W. Gray was born in Lafayette County, Missis¬ 
sippi, July 31, 1861, of English ancestry on both sides of the 
house. His grandfather. Ransom Gray, Avas a native of Horth 
Carolina and pursued the occupation of farming. He was a 
United States soldier in the War of 1812-’14, and lived and died 
in North Carolina. His wife, Xarcissa Alexander before her 
marriage to him, was the daughter of one of the signers of the 
Mecklenburg (N. C.) declaration of independence. The maternal 
grandfather of R. W. Gray, Dr. Harris, Avas a native of North 
Carolina, but died at Cape Girardeau, Mo. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


101 


Charles Harris Gray, the father of Robert \V., a farmer, was 
also a native of North Carolina, but moved to Lafayette County, 
Mississippi, in the fifties and died in that county in 1886. His 
mother, previous to her marriage to his father, was Miss Sarah J. 
Harris, who is still living at Proctor, Texas. 

Robert W. Gray was educated at the University of Mississippi 
in the years 1880 and 1881. After leaving college Mr. Gray 
came to Texas and taught the second school organized in the town 
of Dublin, Texas. He pursued the same profession in Comanche 
and Erath counties for nine years. In 1890 he began merchandis¬ 
ing at Proctor, the then terminus of the Fort Worth & Rio Grande 
Railway, and for a time was postmaster and depot railroad agent 
at that place. In 1899 he organized the Proctor Mercantile Com¬ 
pany, of which he is now president. He is a Democrat, and has 
been a delegate in the county conventions of that party. ^ 

In his race for the Legislature in 1900 Mr. Gray had no opposi¬ 
tion, but in the general election he was opposed by a Populist. 
The county had been strongly Populistic for several years previous 
and had sent a Populist to represent it in a former Legislature. 
Mr. Gray defeated his opponent by a majority of 400. 

Robert W. Gray was married to Miss Dena B. Harris in Panola 
County, Mississippi, October 18, 1888, who died March 7, 1896, 
at Proctor, d^exas. From that marriage there were three sons— 
Cecil, Floyd, and Paul. Mr. Gray is a member of the Presbyterian 
church. Phi Kappa Psi college society, the Masonic fraternity, and 
the Knights of Pythias. He serves on the following house com¬ 
mittees: Education, Commerce and Manufactures, Judicial Dis¬ 
tricts, and Insurance, Statistics and History. 

Mr. Gray has looked well to the interest of his constituency in 
all matters of legislation relating to his particular section. He 
has ably advocated the cause of the actual settler, as it has been 
identical with the change of the land-leasing lines. Though serv¬ 
ing his first term, he has the bearing of an old member, and his 
people may trust him as an able and conscientious representative. 


HON. COURTNEY GRAY. 


Cisco. 


One of the young members of the Twenty-seventh Legislature 
is the Hon. Courtney Gray, who represents the 81st legislative dis¬ 
trict, composed of the counties of Eastland and Palo Pinto. 

]\fr. Gray was born in Miller County, ^lissouri, June 10, 1872. 


102 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


His grandfather, Matthew Gray, was a merchant and farmer and 
died in Missouri about the close of the Civil war. His maternal 
grandfather, x4rchibald Ehea, was a Missouri farmer. He was of 
Irish descent, and died in Pulaski County, Missouri, in 1876. F. 
C. Gray, the father of the subject of this sketch, moved to this 
State from Missouri in 1879 and lived in Parker, Wise, Fannin, 
and Eastland counties, dying in the latter named county in 1898, 
and is buried at Cisco. The mother of Mr. Gray, Mrs. Lucy A. 
(Ehea) Gray, died in 1891, and is buried at Long Branch, East- 
land County, Texas. 

Mr. Gray got the rudiments of his education by incessant home 
study, and finally, in 1891, secured a certificate to teach. He 
attended Simmons College at Abilene during the sessions of 1892 
and 1893, and in 1895 took the academic work at Add-Ean Uni¬ 
versity. Mr. Gray is a teacher and has been following that 
profession since 1891, when he secured his certificate. He has 
taken an active part in the conventions of the Democratic party, 
and on the stump has met, at the instance of his party, noted 
Populist speakers, among whom Avere J. J. Eagle, S. A. Bryant, 
and others. 

Mr. Gray at this term has been especially interested in and 
has made strenuous efforts to secure an open season during which 
cattle may be removed north and west of the stock quarantine line 
without inspection; also in removing the lease line further west¬ 
ward and making those lands subject to purchase for actual settle¬ 
ment. 

He is unmarried, and is a member of the Christian church. He 
serves on the following committees: Education, Asylums, Stock 
and Stock Eaising, Federal Eolations, and Commerce and Manu¬ 
factures. 

Mr. Gray has represented the 81st district in an able and com¬ 
mendable manner, and will go back to his constituency presenting 
a clear record for their approval. 


HOK EOBEET A. GEEEE. 


Beaumont. 


The Hon. Eobert A. Greer, member of the house in the Twenty- 
seventh Legislature, was born at Holly Springs, Miss., April 19, 
1854. His grandparents on the paternal and maternal sides re¬ 
spectively were James M. Greer, s machinist and native of Vir¬ 
ginia, and M. Autrey, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


103 


Texas with David Crockett and fell at the Alamo. His father, 
James M. Greer, was a lawyer, and was born and reared at Paris, 
Tenn., and coming to Texas in 1877 settled near Corsicana, where 
he died, leaving a wife, who is now living with her son at Beau¬ 
mont. 

Mr. Greer received his education at the University of Mississippi 
at Oxford in 1875 and 1876. After leaving school he came to 
Texas and settled at Corsicana, where, in 1880, he was admitted 
to the bar, and in 1888 to practice in the Supreme Court of the 
United States. In 1890 he moved to Beaumont, where he has ever 
since followed his chosen profession, being now a member of the 
law firm of Greer & Greer. 

In the Clark and Hogg campaign in 1894 Mr. Greer was on the 
State campaign ticket and took the stump in about twenty coun¬ 
ties. For about fifteen years he has attended almost every State 
convention. He went to the National convention at Chicago and 
he was a delegate to the last one held at Kansas City. 

Mr. Greer is one of the representatives of the 36th district (Hon. 
E. B. Pickett being the other), composed of the counties of Jef¬ 
ferson, Orange, Hardin, Tyler, Chambers, and Liberty. Besides 
being a representative in this house, he has been a senator in the 
Twenty-second, Twenty-third, and Twenty-fourth Legislatures. 
In his race for the Twenty-second senate he defeated four or five 
opponents before the convention. At the time—under the two- 
third rule—he lacked on the first ballot one-third of a vote of 
having two-thirds of the convention, but on the second he received 
a unanimous nomination. In the general election he defeated his 
Populist opponent by an overwhelming majority. In his after 
races for the senate and in his race for the house he had no opposi¬ 
tion either in the primaries or the general election. 

Mr. Greer was married in 1893 io Miss Jeannette Stone of Hen¬ 
derson, and has one child, Mary Stone. He belongs to the Elks, 
the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, and the Hoo-Hoos. He is 
chairman of Judiciary No. 1, and serves on other committees. 

Mr. Greer’s record as a legislator during his several terms of 
service as senator from his district was such as to mark him as 
a lawmaker of superior ability. Actuated by patriotic motives, he 
returned to the lower house, because he could, in this capacity, 
better serve his people, who have never been slow to honor him 
with any position within their power to bestow. 


104 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON. A. 1). HAMILTON. 


Hemphill. 


The Hon. Alexander D. Hamilton, member of the house in the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature, representing the 33d district, com¬ 
posed of Shelby and Sabine counties, was born in Jasper County, 
Texas, June 5, 1857. On the paternal side his grandfather was 
Hugh Hamilton, a journalist and real estate owner, whose home 
was in Harrisburg, Pa. Here, on Second Street, he built the first 
three-story brick building, and in it he and his wife, Eosana 
(Bowd) Hamilton—originally from Massachusetts—lived and 
died. On the maternal side his grandfather was Hugh Moses 
Thomason, a teacher, who died at Jasper, Texas, about the year 
1858, leaving a wife who survived him until about 1870. 

His father, John Hamilton, was born in Harrisburg, Pa., where 
he was reared and educated as a journalist. Coming to Texas in 
1832 he settled at Jasper and lived there until the time of his 
death, in 1895. He not only served in the Mexican war, but also 
in the Confederate army, though at heart he was a Unionist. 
Although contrary to his principles, he went with Texas when 
she seceded. 

Mr. Hamilton was educated at State College, Center County, 
Pennsylvania, and was striving for the B. A. degree, when on 
account of ill health he was compelled to give up his course. 
Eeturning to Jasper, Texas, he taught school for six years, pur¬ 
sued the study of law in Colonel T. W. Ford^s office, was admitted 
to the bar in 1886, and ever since has been practicing at Hemphill, 
Texas, where he is now a member of the law firm of Polley & Ham¬ 
ilton. He belongs to the Democratic party; has been a delegate 
to almost all the State conventions since 1887, and for four terms 
acted as chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of 
Sabine County. Although the Populists were in control there in 
1896,—continuing so for four years,—the county is now completely 
won over to Democracy. 

Mr. Hamilton was also a representative in the Twenty-sixth 
Legislature. In that race he had an opponent who withdrew before 
the meeting of the convention, and in the general election he de¬ 
feated his Populist opponent by a large majority. In the race 
for his present seat he defeated liis opponent in the primaries by 
a small majority, and in the general election he had no opposition. 

He was married in Jasper County in 1887 to Miss Callie Hart, 
a descendant of Thomas Hart Benton, for thirty consecutive years 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


105 


a United States senator from Missouri. His children are Beaver 
Alricks, at present a page in the house; Thomas Benton, Seirra- 
Margarette, and little Ida Weatherred. He is a Baptist, belongs 
to the Masonic order, and serves on committees; Internal Im¬ 
provements, Public Health and Vital Statistics, County Govern¬ 
ment and County Finances, Contingent Expenses, and Federal 
Eolations. 

He is a prudent, positive, and conservative representative, and 
is now sustaining the record he made in the Twenty-sixth Legisla¬ 
ture as an able lawmaker. 


HOV. JOHV B. HEMPHILL. 

Avalon. 

The Hon. John B. Hemphill, professionally a lawyer and real 
estate and collecting agent, at Avalon, Ellis County, Texas, repre¬ 
sents the 68th legislative district in the Twenty-seventh Le^gisla- 
ture. He was born at Kosciusko, Miss., April 17, 1858. His 
grandfather was Brigadier-General James Hemphill of the Mis¬ 
sissippi militia, who died in Choctaw County, Mississippi, in 1868. 
His maternal grandfather was a Methodist preacher of distinction, 
Eev. Charles Hardy. His father, for whom he is named, was a 
prominent lawyer of Kosciusko, Miss., who was twice elected dis¬ 
trict attorney of the 5th judicial district of Mississippi. He re¬ 
moved to Avalon, Texas, in 1878, and died there in 1882. His 
mothers maiden name was Miss Maria Hardy, born in Georgia, 
September, 1833. She was graduated from Sharon College, Mis¬ 
sissippi, and died in Kosciusko in 1863. This couple liad four 
-children, three of whom are living. His father was married the 
second time to Miss Fannie Hallam, by whom he had three chil¬ 
dren, all of whom are living. 

Mr. Hemphill was educated in the higher public schools of 
Mississippi and Texas. He read law with the Hon. William 
Henry Crain as his preceptor, at Hallettsville, Texas, and was 
admitted to the bar at that place in 1881. Mr. Hemphill first 
settled in Coleman County, but remained there only one year, and 
thence removed to Ellis County, where he owns a farm near 
Avalon, and opened and is conducting a land and collecting office. 
Mr. Hemphill is a Democrat, and has done some service in county 
conventions for his party. He defeated his Democratic opponent 
in the primaries in the race for the Legislature in 1900 Iw a 
majority of 500 in a total vote of 6500. He also defeated his 



106 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Populist opponent in the general election by a majority of 5236 
votes. 

John B. Hemphill was married to Miss Maggie Smith, Septem¬ 
ber 3, 1885, at Avalon. They have four children, to wit: Lola, 
Grady, Vera, and Allie May. He is a member of the Cumberland 
Presbyterian church and of the Woodmen of the World. He 
serves on the following house committees: Judiciary Ho. 1, In¬ 
ternal Improvements, State Affairs, Asylums, and Eoads and 
Bridges. 

Mr. Hemphill is making an able and faithful representative. 

HOH. FITZHUGH F. HILL. 

Denton. 

The Hon. Fitzhugh F. Hill, a practicing lawyer residing at 
Denton, Texas, represents the 12th legislative district in the 
Tw^enty-seventh Legislature. He w'as born April 25, 1872, in Bar¬ 
bour County, West Virginia. His paternal great-grandfather 
emigrated from Germany to Maryland in 1756 and settled in 
Frederick County of that State. He married Miss Matilda 
Koontz, also a native of Germany. They both lived in that county 
during the • remainder of their lives. His grandfather, Frederick 
Hill, a native of Maryland, settled in wEat is now West Virginia 
in 1783, and died there in 1848. Fitzhugh F. HilFs grandfather 
on the maternal side was a native of Wales, but emigrated to this 
country in 1800, and settled in West Virginia, which was his home 
until his death. 

The father of Eepresentative Flill, Hannibal Hill, a farmer and 
stockman, settled in Denton County, Texas, and lived there until 
his death in 1895. His mother, who before her marriage was Miss 
Adeline V. Smith, is still living and residing wdth her son, Fitz¬ 
hugh, in Denton, Texas. 

Fitzhugh F. Hill was educated at the University of Texas, 
spending two years in the academic and two years in the law school 
of that institution, to wit, 1889-^90; 1891-^92, 1893-^94. He 
would have been graduated from the law department wdth honors 
if his failing health had not compelled him to withdraw one month 
before commencement. He was admitted to the Texas'bar at Den¬ 
ton in 1894, and has been practicing his profession there ever 
since. 

Mr. Hill is a Democrat, and served as assistant county attorney 
of Denton County for four years, from 1897 to 1900, inclusive. 
He has attended as a delegate all county, district, and State Demo- 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


lor 

cratic conventions for the last ten years and served as a member 
of the Committee on Platform and Eesolntions, and signed, with 
eight others, the minority report against expansion in 1898. Mr. 
Hill had no opponent in the primaries in his race for the Legisla¬ 
ture, but in the general election he was opposed by a Populist, the 
latter receiving only 25 votes. Mr. Hill did not favor any radical 
legislation, but he did favor the elimination of all Populists, Silver 
Eepublicans, and Socialists from the organization of the Demo¬ 
cratic party. 

Fitzhugh F. Hill was married to Miss Charlotte Jackson, 
daughter of the late Captain Cal. Jackson of Denton County, on 
the 23d day of October, 1896. This couple have two small chil¬ 
dren—Bessie and Helen. He is a member of the Baptist church 
and of the Knights of Pythias. He serves on the following house 
committees: Finance, Eevenue and Taxation, Judiciary No. 2, 
and County and County Boundaries. 

Mr. Hill had the honor of being selected by his party colleagues 
to make the nominating speech of the Hon. Joe Bailey for United 
States senator, which duty he performed most fittingly and satis¬ 
factorily to those selecting him for the honor. 


HOK. JAMES W. HITET. 

Bloomburg. 

The Hon. James IV. Hurt, member of the house in the Twenty- 
seventh Legislature, was born at Spartanburg, S. C., February 
11, 1843. 

His grandfather, Joseph Hurt, was a native Virginian, who lived 
and died at Spartanburg, S. C. His grandfather on his mochePs 
side w^as Jerry Selman, wEo was reared and died in Spartanburg. 
In the histories of the Eevolutionary war of that section it is truly 
related of him that he lived to an old age, although scalped and 
pierced through the body by the Tories. 

His father was Janies H. Hurt, a native of South Carolina, who 
moved to Campbell County, Georgia, in 1852, remaining until 
1869, during which time he was justice of the peace for two terms 
and judge of the inferior court for several terms. Moving from 
this place to Cass County, Texas, he bought a farm, on which he 
died in 1887. Mis mother was Miss Lucinda Selman of Spartan¬ 
burg, who, in her eighty-fourth year, is now living with her daugh¬ 
ter, Mrs. J. J. Casey, near Bloomburg, Texas. 

James W. Hurt was educated at the country schools of Campbell 


108 


BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES 


•County, Georgia, during the fanner’s vacation season, which is 
between ^laying by” and ^^fodder pulling time.” At the age of 
18 he was mustered into Company G, Thirtieth Georgia regiment 
of the Confederate army, at Griswoldville, Ga. After remaining 
with that regiment about twelve months he became a member of 
Company D, First battalion of Georgia Sharpshooters, with which 
lie remained until captured at Xashville, December 16, 1864. He 
was at Camp Chase, Ohio, until the 12th of June, 1865, then 
went to his father’s home in Campbell County, Georgia, staying 
there until he came to Cass County, Texas, where ever since he 
lias lived and farmed. 

Mr. Hurt belongs to the Democratic party, in whose interest 
he has always locally worked. He represents the 2d district, com¬ 
posed of Cass County. He was elected to the house by a majority 
primary vote of about 250 over his one opponent, and defeated his 
Independent Democrat opponent in the general election by about 
950 majority. 

Mr. Hurt was married in 1873 to Miss Florence E. Pool of Cass 
County. She died June 8, 1897. They had eight children, four 
living—E. Spurgeon; Flora, now Mrs. Noll Porter of Atlanta, 
Texas; Miss S. Lena, and little Della May. Mr. Hurt is a Baptist 
and a member of the Masonic order. He serves on the following 
committees: State Affairs, Finance, Claims and Accounts, and 
Irrigation. 

Mr. Hurt is a man ripe in years and experience, and possesses 
that native intelligence which is ever more essential than superficial 
wisdom, as a chief characteristic of the able man and legislator. 


HON. SELDEN A. McMEANS. 

Palestine. 

The Hon. Selden A. McMeans, an attorney at law, in the prac¬ 
tice of his profession at Palestine, Texas, is a member of the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature, representing Anderson County, the 
29th legislative district. He was horn at Palestine, Texas, his 
present home, February 18, 1858. His grandfather, Isaac Mc¬ 
Means, a native of Ireland, emigrated to this country and settled 
in Alabama, where he died about the year 1848. His grandfather, 
Isaac Kicks, was a member of an old Alabama family. He was 
an extensive planter, who removed to Louisiana. He soon there¬ 
after, about the year 1840, died at his Louisiana home. The 
father of our subject, James L. McMeans, was a farmer, born and 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


109 


reared in Alabama. He came to Texas in 1852 and settled on a 
farm near Palestine, where he resided Tintil his death, in 1893. 
His mother was Miss Alexina Ricks, who is still living and has 
her home at Palestine with the subject of this sketch. 

Mr. McMeans was educated in the private schools of his native 
town. He read law and was admitted to the bar at Palestine in 
1885, and has been practicing his profession there ever since. He 
is at present associated with Colonel T. M. Campbell, and together 
they are the firm of Campbell & McMeans. 

Mr. McMeans served as city attorney of Palestine for six years 
consecutively, beginning with 1887. He has been a delegate to 
nearly all county, district and State Democratic conventions held 
since he reached his majority, and has been twice a member of the 
State Democratic Executive Committee—1894 to 1898 inclusive. 
In his race for the Legislature he defeated three opponents in the 
primaries, and in the general election his majority over a Populist 
was about 3300. He was author of the bill providing that short¬ 
term convicts should be worked on the public roads, instead of the 
existing lease system, in order that they might not be brought in 
conflict with free labor. 

Mr. McMeans was married October 30, 1883, to Miss Xellie 
Howard of Palestine, Texas, but who was born and reared in Perry 
County. Tennessee. They have three children—Zena, Howard, 
and John. He is a member of the M. E. church, is a Mason and 
a Knight of Pythias. 

He serves on the following committees: Constitutional Amend¬ 
ments, Internal Improvements, Penitentiaries, and Railroad Com¬ 
mission. 

Mr. McMeans is a platform Democrat, and one of the recognized 
leading members of the house. He introduced the measure pro¬ 
posing to submit the ^‘^Hogg amendments,^^ and after successfully 
championing the same in the committee room, was unsuccessful 
in securing its passage in the house. In doing this he combatted 
some of the best talent of the Twenty-seventh Legislature, and 
though his efforts finally resulted in failure, his defeat was in no 
way an inglorious one. He refers to the historic characteristic 
of a certain ghost, and says that, like it, the demand of the people 
will not ^hlown,’^ and that in the near future they will be granted 
a rehearing. 


110 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HOX. E. T. MOOKE. 
Austin. 


The Hon. E. T. Moore is one of the Travis County representa¬ 
tives in the house of the Twenty-seventh Legislature. His father, 
E. C. Moore, was a merchant, a farmer, and a native of Missouri, 
and at one time a representative in that State. He moved to 
Arkansas, and after living near Fort Smith for about fifteen years, 
in 1861 he moved to Bowie County, Texas; remained there three 
years, then moved to Caldwell County and remained one year, 
from whence he moved to Bastrop County and remained there 
until his death, which occurred in 1882. 

E. T. Moore was born in ISTewton Count}', Missouri, November 
24, 1846. He was educated in the private schools of Arkansas and 
Texas. After leaving school he studied law in the law office of 
Bowers & Walker at Austin, was admitted to the bar in 1867 by the 
Supreme Court of Texas, and has since been in the active practice 
of his chosen profession. During his practice he has been a mem¬ 
ber of four different firms, namely: Oatman & Moore; Wheeler 
& Moore; Rector, Moore & Thomson; and Moore & Moore,—Victor 
C., his son, being the junior member of the latter firm, which now 
exists. Mr. Moore has been city attorney of Austin and county 
attorney and district attorney of Travis County, and he has for 
many years been regarded as one of the leading members of the 
Austin bar. From the time he became of age he has attended 
almost every State, county, and district convention, and has not 
only frequently been on the stump in his own district but has 
also, on invitation, spoken in other parts of the State. 

Mr. Moore was a member of the Nineteenth and Twentieth 
Legislatures, and is therefore serving a third term as a representa¬ 
tive of Travis County, the 50th district. In his last race, although 
there were six or seven before the primaries, Mr. Moore and the 
Hon. D. A. McFall were nominated. In tlie general election both 
Democrats defeated their Republican opponents, which proves the 
popularity of the candidates, for in this district there is a strong 
independent element. 

As a former representative Mr. Moore helped in framing many 
important laws, and in the Twentieth house he was the author of 
the school bill providing for county superintendents. In the 
present house he has secured the passage of two bills,—one provid¬ 
ing for a mineral survey of the State, the other reserving to the 
public schools, the university, and the State asylums all minerals 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


Ill 


on lands hereafter sold. The latter important bill, however, failed 
in the senate, and it will, doubtless, become the subject of future 
legislation. 

Mr. Moore was married in 1871 to Miss Maggie R. Cloud of 
Austin. Four children have been born to them, three living and 
one dead. Those living are Victor C. Moore, who married Miss 
Ida Seely of Waco; Arthur Moore, bookkeeper at Scarbrough & 
Hicks’, and E. T. Moore, Jr., a law student in the University of 
Texas. His only daughter, Maud, wdio married Mr. Cullen F. 
Thomas of Waco—now county attorney of McLennan County— 
died August 1, 1899, leaving a little daughter, Margaret, who 
lives with Mr. and Mrs. Moore, her grandparents. 

Mr. Moore is a member of the Methodist church and belongs 
to the Blue Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, the Royal Arch 
Masons, the Shriners, and the Knights Templar. He serves on 
committees as follows: Judiciary Ko. 1, Finance, Revenue and 
Taxation, Penitentiaries, and Mining and Minerals. 


HOK. AXTOK K. MOURSUKD. 


Fredericksburg. 

The Hon. Anton JST. Moursund, by profession a lawyer, residing 
and practicing law at Fredericksburg, Texas, represents, with his 
colleague. Captain Ferg. Kyle, the 98th legislative district, com¬ 
posed of the counties of Hays, Comal, Blanco, and Gillespie, in 
the house of the Twenty-seventh Legislature. He was born in 
Travis County, Texas, on March 26, 1877. His paternal grand¬ 
parents were natives of Norway and died there. His father, A. 
W. Moursund, came to Texas from Norway at the age of twenty- 
five, began the practice of law shortly afterwards, and has made 
the law his profession ever since. He was district judge of the 
33d district for eight years, from about 1881 to 1889, He also 
was a member of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Legislatures. 

His mother’s maiden name was Henrietta Mowinckle, daughter 
of J. E. Mowinckle, a farmer of Travis County, Texas. Her 
parents, though also natives of Norway, have resided in Travis 
County for about fifty years, and are both living. 

Anton N. Moursund attended the public schools of Fredericks¬ 
burg, Blanco, and Marble Falls. He then entered the law de¬ 
partment of the University of Texas at the age of 18, and gradu¬ 
ated in 1897 at the age of 20 with the degree of LL. B., and in 
1898 with the degree of LL. M. After graduation he entered 


112 


BI0GEA1M[1CAL SKETCHES 


the practice of his profession wiih his father and is still with 
him. 

Mr. ]\roursnnd is a Democrat. He had two opponents, but both 
withdrew from the race before the nominating convention arrived 
at a vote. In the general election he had no opponent. Mr. 
Moursund was greatly interested in, and strongly advocated the 
passage of, the bilh before the Twenty-seventh Legislature making" 
an appropriation for the ‘construction and maintenance of the 
Southwest Texas N’ormal College, to he located at San Marcos, in 
his district. 

Anton X. Moursund was married to Miss Elizabeth Patton of 
Fredericksburg, Texas, on December 11, 1899. He serves on the 
following house committees: Education, Judiciary Xo. 2, and 
Judicial Districts. 

Though one of the youngest members of the Twenty-seventh 
Legislature, he has made a good record as a capable and faithful 
representative. 


HOX. JESSE C. MUPPELL. 

Gainesville. 

The Hon, Jesse C. Murrell of Gainesville, Texas, a farmer by 
occupation, was born in Kay County, Missouri, May 12, 1856. He 
sprang from a line of wealthy Virginia farmers and slaveowners 
on both sides of the house. His paternal great-grandfather, 
Samuel Murrell, was born and brought up in Albemarle County, 
Virginia, the neighbor and friend of Thomas Jefferson, and was 
a colonel in the Revolutionary army. The grandfather of Jesse, 
the subject of this sketch, George Murrell, was also an extensive 
planter and large slaveowner and a native of Albemarle County, 
Virginia; but he was brought up in Barren County, Kentucky, 
where he died about the year 1828. His maternal grandfather, 
Thomas Xunnaullee, also a planter and slaveowner, was a native 
of Buckingham County, Virginia, but died in Barren County, Ken¬ 
tucky, about the year 1825. The father of Jesse C., William 
^lurrell, was likewise an extensive farmer and a slaveowner. He 
was born and reared in Barren County, Kentucky, hut came to 
Fannin County,- Texas, in 1857; but in 1860 he moved to Cook 
County, Texas, where he died in 1867. The mother of Jesse C., 
before her marriage to his father, was IMiss Xancy L. Xunnaullee, 
who was born in Buckingham County, Virginia, but was married 
in 1832 to his father, William Murrell, in Barren County, Ken- 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


113 


tucky, where she was reared. She died in Cook County, Texas, 
in 1873. 

Jesse C. Murrell, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the 
public schools of Cook County and in a private school at Gaines¬ 
ville, Texas. After leaving school he took up the occupations of 
farming and merchandising in Cook County, but now is engaged 
solely in conducting the farms that he owns in that county, having 
his residence in Gainesville. 

Mr. Murrell is a thorough Democrat and has been actively 
identified with that party ever since he attained his majority, since 
which time he has been a delegate to all the Democratic conven¬ 
tions of his county and State. He served as chairman of the 
Cook County Democratic Executive Committee in 1899, and was 
for several years previous a member of that committee. 

Mr. Murrell has served as a delegate in the Texas house of 
representatives for four terms of the Legislature, to wit, the 
Twenty-first, Twenty-second, Twenty-third, and the present body. 
In his race for the Twenty-first Legislature in 1888 he was nomi¬ 
nated without any solicitation or consultation with himself per¬ 
sonally, and he had no opponent m the general election. In his 
second race he defeated his opponent in the primaries by a vote 
of 63 to 3, and in the general election he defeated the Populist 
nominee by about 10 to 1. In the third race he had no Demo¬ 
cratic opposition, but in the general election defeated a Populist 
by a very large majority. In his race for his present seat he had 
an opponent in the primaries, v/hom he defeated by a good 
majority. 

In behalf of the purification of the ballot, Mr. Murrell favored 
a law prohibiting the use of money in elections, and in support of 
which desirable reform he introduced a bill to correct that evih 
He also introduced a resolution to change the Constitution so that, 
a requisite qualification for the exercise of suffrage should be a 
payment of a poll tax. Mr. Murrell is a strong advocate of good 
government, and is a safe and conservative legislator. 

Jesse C. Murrell was married to Miss Ada J. Moss in Gaines¬ 
ville, Texas, July 20, 1893. He is a member of the Methodist 
church and is a Knight Templar of the Masonic fraternity. He is 
a member and sub-chairman of the Committee on Finance, also a 
member of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments and 
State Affairs, Stock and Stock Raising, and Roads, Bridges and 
Ferries. 

Mr. IVIurrell seconded the nomination of the Hon. J. W. Bailey 
for United States senator, and it is currently admitted that he made; 
one of the best speeches on that occasion. 

8—Gov’t. 


114 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON^. THOMAS H. NAPIER. 

WiNSBORO 

The subject of this sketch, Thomas H. Napier, is a delegate in 
the house of representatives of the Twenty-seventh Texas Legisla¬ 
ture, representing the 20th legislative -district, composed of the 
counties of Wood and Raines, with a residence in Winsboro. He 
is the editor and proprietor of the Wide-Awake, a weekly newspaper 
published at Winsboro. 

He was born in Morris County, Texas, May 14, 1871. His 
father, Lloyd Napier, was born and brought up in Bullitt County, 
Kentucky, and pursued the occupations of farmer and mechanic. 
He, the father, served in the Confederate army through the whole 
of the Civil war, at the close of which, in 1865, he settled in Morris 
County, Texas, in which county he resided over twenty-five years, 
and moved to Mineola in 1896, where he died in 1897, and was 
buried at Daingerfield. The mother of Thomas H. Napier was, 
previous to her marriage to his father. Miss Fannie Hefner, who 
was reared in Morris County, Texas, and died there in 1885. The 
father and mother were buried side by side. 

Thomas Napier received his education in the public schools at 
Daingerfield, Texas. After leaving school Mr. Napier worked as a 
compositor in the printing offices in different towns of Texas. In 
fact, while at school he supplemented his means of paying his 
way by setting type, and thus partly by his own labors acquired an 
education. Finally locating in Winsboro in 1893, he established 
the Winsboro Wide-Awake, a Democratic weekly newspaper. 
After conducting that paper for several years he sold it and pur¬ 
chased the Mineola Monitor, which paper, after publishing for two 
years, he sold and repurchased the Wide-Awake, of which he is 
still the editor and publisher. In both of these papers he has 
always advocated Democratic principles and thorough Democratic 
organization. He has been a delegate to nearly every State Demo¬ 
cratic convention for the last eight years. He served his party 
two terms, 1896 to 1898, inclusive, as chairman of the Democratic 
executive committee of his county. 

In his candidacy for the Twenty-seventh Legislature Mr. Napier 
had an opponent in the primary elections, but he carried every box 
except one, and in this he tied his opponent. He was elected in 
the race before the people against a Populist competitor by the 
largest majority ever given to a Democratic candidate in that legis¬ 
lative district. Mr. Napier served as postmaster to the Twenty- 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


115 


fifth senate of Texas and was assistant journal clerk.of the Twenty- 
sixth Texas senate. 

Thomas H. Napier was married to Miss Maggie E. Kelly, July 
19, 1899, at Big Sandy, Upshur County, Texas. He is a member 
of the Methodist church and served two terms as vice-president of 
the Texas Press Association. In the Twenty-seventh Legislature 
he serves as chairman of the Committee on Engrossed Bills, and is 
a member also of the following committees: State Affairs, Public 
Lands and Land Office, Public Buildings and Grounds, and Public 
Printing, and is a safe and conservative legislator. He has led in 
all matters that pertained to an early adjournment, believing that 
little new legislation is required or expected by the people. 


HON. JAMES 0. NICHOLSON. 

Lakedo. 

The Hon. J. 0. Nicholson, representing Webb County, the 80th 
district, in the house of the Twenty-seventh Legislature, was born 
near Pittsfield, Pike County, Illinois, March 29, 1847. On the 
paternal side he is the grandson of J. R. Nicholson, a native of 
England and an early settler first in Vermont, then in Illinois, 
where as a prosperous farmer he lived until his death, about 1850. 
On the maternal side he is the grandson of Nathaniel Bagby, a 
native Virginian, a farmer and a pioneer of Kentucky and also of 
Illinois, dying at Pittsfield, Ills., about 1869. His grandmother 
on his maternal side was Lucy Montague, a descendant of Peter 
Montague, the ancestor of all the Virginia Montagues. He is the 
son of Robert S. Nicholson, a retired farmer, wlio was born in 
Vermont in 1815, and who emigrated with his parents to Illinois 
when nine years of age. He is now living at Greenwood, Jackson 
County, Missouri, and is in his eighty-sixth year. 

James 0. Nicholson was educated in the public schools of his 
native county and high school of Pittsfield, Ills. After leaving 
school he dealt in stock and farmed in Illinois and Missouri, com¬ 
ing to Texas in 1871 and locating at Sherman. Here, in 1879, he 
was admitted to the bar. In 1881 he moved to Laredo, his present 
home. Since 1880 he has attended almost every State Democratic 
convention. In 1892, when Cleveland was last nominated, he wont 
as a delegate to the National Democratic convention at Chicago. 
He was a member of the committee on permanent organization 
in that convention. In 1896, when Bryan was first nominated, he 
was again a delegate to Chicago. Mr. Nicholson was a soldier dur- 


116 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


ing the Civil war. He first enlisted in the One Hundred and 
Thirty-seventh Illinois infantry regiment, but after four months^ 
service was discharged. He then re-enlisted in Company D, Sev¬ 
enth Illinois regiment; was in Memphis at the time of General 
Forrest’s celebrated raid in 1864, and was discharged at Louisville, 
Ky., in 1865. 

Mr. Nicholson was married in 1884 to Miss Myrtle M oods of 
Sherman, Texas, and has two children—Mary Montague, aged 13, 
and Elizabeth Porter, aged 10. He is chairman of the Irrigation 
Committee, and is a member of Judiciary No. 1, Judicial Districts, 
Towns and City Corporations, and Manufactures. 

Mr. Nicholson is an honored citizen of the district he represents 
and commands the highest esteem of his fellow representatives. 
He is from the growing Southwest, and stands with that progressive 
class of his constituency who favor the removal of all obstacles to 
prosperity and the healthful development of their section, as well 
as of the whole State. 


HON. JAMES I. PERKINS. 

Rusk. 

The counties of Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, and Houston 
compose the 31st legislative district, which is represented in the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature by the Hon. James I. Perkins of Rusk. 
He is another of the senior members that may boast Texas nativity,, 
having been born at San Augustine. August 30, 1847. His father, 
James Perkins, was a native of Spottsylvania County, Virginia, 
who in early manhood went from that State to Shelbyville, Tenn. 
Six years later, in 1824, he there married Miss Mary South Irvine, 
the mother of the subject of this sketch. Her father, Josephus. 
Irvine, and her mother, Jane Patton, were natives of Buncombe 
County, North Carolina, from which place they moved before their 
marriage to Bedford County, Tennessee, where the mother of the 
subject of this sketch was born. After long citizenship in Ten¬ 
nessee, in 1830 he started overland with his family, including the 
parents of Judge Perkins, to Texas. He died at Alexandria, 
Louisiana, and others of his company continued their way till San 
Augustine, Texas, was reached, where Mr. Perkins, Sr., established 
a home. This was prior to the Texas Revolution, a struggle in 
which he took active part. He was at the seige and capture of 
Bexar in 1835, and served through the war for Texas independence, 
and five brothers of the subject’s mother participated in the battle 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


117 


of San Jacinto, namely: Robert Boyd Irvine, James T. R. Irvine, 
Josephus S. Irvine, Peter Irvine, and William D. Irvine. He died 
in 1860, but the mother survived until 1891, dying at the advanced 
age of eighty-three. 

Judge Perkins was educated at the Wesleyan College, San 
Augustine, and later, in 1870 and 1871, studied law at the Univer¬ 
sity of V'irginia. He was admitted to the bar in August, 1871, 
upon his return home, and practiced in San Augustine and the 
adjacent judicial field till 1882, when he removed to the town of 
Rusk, in Cherokee County, where he has since remained, and is 
now a member of the law firm of Perkins & Gibson of that place. 
In 1879 he was appointed by Governor Roberts district attorney 
for the San Augustine or 2d judicial district. In 1884, after he 
had removed to Rusk, he was appointed by Governor Ireland judge 
of the same district, which included within its jurisdiction Chero¬ 
kee and Anderson counties. He was thereafter twice elected to the 
same office, and after serving eight years resigned in February, 
1892, in which year he was one of the Democratic electoral college. 
He was before the nominating convention for Congress from the 
2d district in 1887, and lacked only one and a fraction of receiving 
as many votes as all of his three opponents combined; yet, that the 
harmonies should be preserved, after nearly a week’s contest he 
retired and one of his opponents was nominated. In 1894 he was 
again a candidate for Congress and was opposed in the convention 
by the Hon. S. B. Cooper. He imd Mr. Cooper led each other 
alternately, but under the two-thirds rule, as in the previous con¬ 
test, a deadlock ensued, and again, at the end of a week. Judge 
Perkins withdrew and his opponent was nominated. 

Judge Perkins enlisted in the Confederate army in April, 1864, 
at the age of 16, and served throughout the remainder of the war. 
He was a member of Lane’s regiment. Major’s brigade. Green’s 
division, and besides many others, participated in the battles at 
Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and Yellow Bayou. 

He would like to see a new Constitution adopted, meeting the 
advanced wants and conditions of our State. He was married at 
Nacogdoches, March 22, 1876, to Miss Myrta Blake of that place. 
They have an interesting family of seven children—Bennett Blake, 
a law student at the Texas University; Misses Mary South and 
Ella Adda; James I., Jr.; Julia Angelita, Myrta, and Sam 
Wilson. 

He is chairman of the Committee on Penitentiaries, and serves 
on other committees. He is a member of the M. E. church, is an 
Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, and belongs to the order of 

A. 0. U. W. 


118 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HO^sT. W. F. KOBEKTSON^. 

Georgetown. 

The Hon. W. F. Kobertson, member of the house in the Twenty- 
seventh Legislature, was born in Eoane County, Tennessee, July 
13, 1859. 

His grandfather, John Eobertson, a farmer, was a native of 
North Carolina and an emigrant to Eoane County, Tennessee, 
dying at Erie, in the latter State. On the maternal side his 
grandfather, John W. Hunt, was a farmer and a native of Mary¬ 
land, who died not far from Jonesboro, in Washington County, 
Tennessee. 

His father was James Eobertson, a physician, born in Washing¬ 
ton County, Tennessee, in 1810, dying in Eoane County in 1861, 
and is buried at Erie, Tenn. His mother was Miss Mary A. Hunt, 
born and reared in Washington County, dying at Austin, Texas, 
November 16, 1894. 

Mr. Eobertson graduated from Sweetwater College, Tennessee, 
in 1881, and from the University of Texas in 1886, taking the 
LL. B. degree. After leaving college he began the practice of law, 
locating at Taylor, Williamson County, Texas. After residing 
here for ten years—from 1886 to 1896—he moved to Georgetown, 
where he has since been in the active practice of the law. 

Mr. Eobertson belongs to the Democratic party. From 1893 to 
1896 he was city attorney of Taylor. Then he was elected county 
judge without opposition, serving two terms, until November, 1900. 
He has attended all county, district, and State conventions for 
ten years. He represents the 71st district, composed of William¬ 
son County. In the race for his ])resent seat lie was nominated 
over an ex-member of the Twenty-sixth house liy a majority 
primary vote of 97, and defeated his Populist opponent in the 
general election by a majority vote of 4000. 

Mr. Eobertson was married June 26, 1889, to Miss Annie 
Dowling of Austin, Texas, daughter of Eichard W. Dowling of 
Houston. He has no children. He is a member of the Presby¬ 
terian church, and belongs to the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, 
Knights of the Order of Maccabees, and the Woodmen of the 
World. He is chairman of the Eailroad Commission Committee, 
and a member of Judiciary No. 2, Public Lands and Land Office, 
County Government and C'ounty Finances, liabor, and Examina¬ 
tion of Comptrollers and Treasurers Accounts. 


TEXAS OEEICIALS. 


119 


The Hon. W. F. Kobertson is one of four brothers who have 
been prominent as leading citizens in their adopted State, and who 
have stood distinguished as members of the Texas bar. The Hon. 
John W. Kobertson, the oldest of the four, was a lawyer of 
superior attainments, a scholar of renown, and a gentleman of the 
highest social distinction. He was twice mayor of the city of 
Austin, and is remembered as one of the most efficient and popular 
ofiicers that has ever occupied that position. He died some years 
ago in the prime of manhood. Joseph W. Kobertson, the second 
of the brothers, was formerly a citizen of Georgetown, Williamson 
County, but for the last six years he has been a resident of Austin, 
where he has been under medical treatment for locomotor ataxia. 
He was county attorney of Williamson County for two terms, and 
at the time of his being seized by that terrible disease he was a 
member of the law firm of Makemson, Fisher & Kobertson, which 
firm enjoyed a large and lucrative practice. He was at one time 
member of the Democratic Executive Committee of this State for 
the 20th senatorial district. The Hon. James H. Kobertson of 
Austin is the third of the four. He is recognized throughout and 
beyond the State as being the peer of any lawyer in Texas. In 
his earlier practice he served several terms as district attorney of 
the 26th judicial district, and later for several years and until he 
resigned his seat, was on the bench of the same district. He is 
now a member of the firm of Hogg & Kobertson at Austin. The 
subject of this sketch is the youngest of the four. He likewise is 
fast gaining legal prominence and popularity, and as a legislator 
has shown that he is a constitutional lawyer, that he is a clear 
thinker, and that he possesses forensic ability. He is a platform 
Democrat, and as such advocated the ^^Hogg amendments'^ meas¬ 
ure. His speeches on this question were among the ablest deliv¬ 
ered during the session, and he has established, from other legisla¬ 
tive positions taken by him, that his district has an able repre¬ 
sentative. 


HON. THOMAS A. KODKIQUEZ. 

San Antonio. 

The Hon. Thomas A. Kodriquez, a member of the house in 
the Twenty-seventh Legislature, is the grandson of Francisco 
Kodriquez, a native of San Aiitonio, who died there in 1790. He 
is a son of Mariano Kodriquez, first an officer in the Spanish but 


120 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


afterwards in the Mexican army, when Mexico was striving for 
independence against Spain. His mother was Maria Josef a, a 
native of San Antonio, who died there about 1874. 

Mr. Eodriquez was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico, December 31, 
1839. He was educated at the University of Northern Pennsyl¬ 
vania and at Bethany, Pa. For several years after leaving school 
he clerked, first in the office of the collector of Bexar County, then 
of the county clerUs office of that county, and afterwards again in 
the office of the collector, until the war broke out. He then joined 
the army as lieutenant of an independent company, and was later 
on attached to Benevides^ command of the Rio Grande, in which 
he served first as adjutant and afterward as commissary until the 
disbandment of the command at the end of the war, this being the 
last Confederate command to disband. 

After this, returning to San Antonio, he went into the collector’s 
ofiice as deputy. In 1866 he was elected assessor and collector of 
Bexar County, and served under Throckmorton’s administration, 
from which position he was then removed by military command. 
He now lives in Atascosa County, where he owns a place. He has 
attended almost every State, county, and district convention since 
he moved to Atascosa County. 

He represents the 90th fiotorial district, composed of Bexar, 
Atascosa, Wilson, Karnes, and Live Oak counties. Mr. Rodriquez 
was a member of the Seventeenth and the Twenty-third houses. 
In his race for the Twenty-third house he had no opposition, but 
in his race for the Seventeenth house he was opposed in the gen¬ 
eral election by a third party candidate, whom he defeated by a 
majority vote of 6000. In his present race he defeated his op¬ 
ponent, James P. Newcomb, in the general election by a majority 
vote of 6000. 

He was married at San Antonio in 1867 to Miss Maria J. 
Rodriquez, a distant relative. Three children have been born to 
them—Thomas A., Ambrosia, and Maria, now Mrs. Selig Duech- 
mann, all of San Antonio. Mr. Rodriquez is a Catholic. He 
serves on committees as follows: County Government and County 
Finances, Privileges and Elections, and Federal Relations. 

Mr. Rodriquez, though of Spanish lineage and Mexican birth, 
is thoroughly an American. No better Democratic patriot than 
he has a seat in the house of the Twenty-seventh Legislature. He 
is popular with his colleagues in the Legislature, and has secured 
the enactment into law of every measure he has advocated. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


121 


HON^. LOUIS S. SCHLUTER. 

Jefferson. 

Hon. Louis S. Schluter, attorney at law, represents the 3d legis¬ 
lative district, composed of Bowie, Cass, and Marion counties, in the 
Twenty-seventh house of representatives. He is a resident of 
Jefferson, Marion County. He was born in Marion County, Texas, 
September 22, 1850. His great-grandfather, Louis Schluter, a 
minister and farmer, was a native of Germany, but emigrated to 
this country and settled in that beautiful blue grass section of 
middle Tennessee, Sumner County, about a hundred years ago, 
where he died about the year 1857. The mother of Mr. Schluter 
was a Figures; her father, Matthew Figures, lived near Nashville, 
Tenn., dying about the year 1850. His father, Frederick A. 
Schluter, a merchant, was reared in Sumner County, Tennessee, 
but came to Jefferson, Texas, in 1848, at which place he continued 
the mercantile business until he retired in 1876. He died in 
middle Tennessee, while visiting his former home, and was buried 
there. The mother of Mr. Schluter, and the wife of Frederick 
A. Schluter, who before her marriagq was a Miss Anna Figures, 
was also born and brought up in middle Tennessee. She died in 
1864 at San Antonio, Texas, and was buried there. 

The subject of this sketch, Louis S. Schluter, was educated at 
Mclvinzie College, near Clarksville, Texas, in the years 1865-^67. 
He read law with the late Hon. Oran M. Roberts at Gilmer, Texas, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1872, at Jefferson, Texas. He first 
practiced law in Denison for two years, but moved back to Jeffer¬ 
son and there engaged in mercantile business for two years. He 
then removed to Cleburne, Texas, and continued in the same busi¬ 
ness until the summer of 1880, when he again settled in Jefferson 
and was appointed clerk of the county court, served two years, and 
and was then elected and served another term of two years. He 
then resumed the practice of law and was elected county attorney, 
which office he filled two terms, 1884 to 1888, since which time he 
has been practicing law at Jefferson without partners. 

Mr. Schluter served four years, from 1890 to 1894, as mayor 
of the city of Jefferson. He has been a delegate to nearly all the 
Democratic State conventions held since he became of age, and 
has frequently canvassed his district on the hustings in behalf of 
Democratic principles and candidates. He was a member also of 
the house of representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature. In 
that race he defeated-his opponent in the primaries by a vote of 


122 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


three to one, and in the general election he defeated the Populist 
candidate by a majority of about 3000 votes. In the race for the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature he had no opposition in either the 
primaries or the general election. 

In the Twenty-sixth Legislature he served as chairman of the 
Committee on Eevenue and Taxation, and was a member of 
Judiciary Committee No. 1, and other committees. He favors a 
change in the Constitution of the United States making all United 
States officers elective by a direct vote of the people. 

Mr. Schluter was married to Miss Catharine F. Durr at Bright 
Star, Ark., October 1, 1870. His wife was also brought up in 
Jefferson. From this marriage there are two daughters, both of 
whom are married—the first, Mrs. C. A. Kowell, and the second,. 
Mrs. T. L. Torrens, both residing in Jefferson. Mr. Schluter is a 
Methodist, a member of the Masonic fraternity, and a Knight of 
Pythias. 

He is chairman of the house Committee on Finance, and serves 
as a member of the following committees, to wit: Judiciary No. 
1, Internal Improvements, and others. 

Mr. Schluter was elected speaker pro tern of the Twenty-sixth 
house, and he has filled the same position in the present body. He 
was selected to lead the opposition to what is known as the “Hogg 
amendments,^^ and as a crowning work to his superior management 
of the opposing forces on the fioor of the house, his logical, forcible, 
and vigorously delivered speech against the measures proposed tO' 
be submitted brought the same into unpopularity and defeat. He 
is universally conceded to be one of the ablest members of the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature. 


HON. WILLIAM A. SHAW. 


Dallas. 


The Hon. William A. Shaw, better known by the familiar 
sobriquet, “Farmer Shaw,"^ represents the county of Dallas in the 
house of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of Texas. He is a resi¬ 
dent of the city of Dallas, and by profession a journalist. He was 
born in Sevier County, Arkansas, May 16, 1846. His father died 
at Clarksville, Texas, in 1846, and the mother, who before mar¬ 
riage was Miss Irene Gibbs, died in 1875 at Galveston, Texas. 

William A. Shaw was educated at Arcadia College, Arcadia, Mo.,, 
and in 1854, he settled at the locality now called Burnet; lived 
there, however, only one year, when he removed to Austin, Texas, 


TEXAS OFEICIALS. 


123 


in 1855, and resided in that city for ten years. He then located 
at Galveston and remained there until 1887, when he removed to 
Dallas, his present place of residence. He was at college in Mis¬ 
souri from 1869 to 1872. 

Mr. Shaw, who is a practical printer, at an early age became 
associated with the press, for whi(3h profession he has developed a 
peculiar fitness, and has become in his line of publication a very 
pronounced success. In 1867-^68 he was the publisher of the 
Christian Advocate (Methodist), and again from 1874 to 1887 he 
was' the publisher of that paper. 

In 1885 he found his life w^ork as publisher and editor of the 
Texas Farmer, the pages of which journal exhibit his robust in¬ 
dividuality and versatile ability in the treatment of all current 
issues as well as liberal contributions to the improvement of 
agriculture. 

Mr. Shaw is a Democrat and believes in party organization and 
partisan loyalty. Since he began a public career he has repre¬ 
sented his constituents in nearly every Democratic State conven¬ 
tion and followed it up by a discussion of platform issues on the 
hustings. As has been stated, he represents the intelligent and 
populous county of Dallas in the Twenty-seventh Legislature in 
the house of representatives. He encountered about ten com¬ 
petitors in the primaries in the race for the Legislature, but he 
received a pronounced majority of the votes cast. He was duly 
nominated by the county Democratic primaries and w^as elected 
with practically little opposition. 

Mr. Shaw is opposed to all of the incidental questions now 
assumed by many Democrats to be party principles. In a nut¬ 
shell, he wants to see commercialism retired as a political factor 
and pure Democracy enthroned. 

Mr. Shaw made two ineffectual efforts to serve in the Confed¬ 
erate army, being on both enlistments forcibly discharged, but on 
his third offer to enlist he was accepted. He served at first in 
Company H, Fifth regiment of Greenes brigade, but the last two 
years of the war he was a member of McN’elly^s scouts, known as 
Tom Greenes scouts. He participated in all the battles of the 
Louisiana campaigns in which Greenes brigade was engaged. He 
was slightly wounded twice. 

Mr. Shaw w^as married to Miss Julia A. Keach on the first of 
February, 1875, at Lebanon, Ills. This couple have had born to 
them six children, tw^o of whom were sons and four of wFom were 
daughters. Two sons and two daughters are still living. He is 
a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Grange, and Knights and 
Ladies of Honor. 


124 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


He is an able and painstaking member of the Legislature, and 
in this wav never does things by halves. This was shown in his 
able advocacy of the ^hnaxinium rate bill/^ introduced jointly by 
himself and the Hon. Travis Henderson of Lamar. He serves 
on the following committees: County Government and County 
Finances, Public Printing, Agricultural Affairs, and Labor. 

Mr. Shaw is in the prime of life and gives promise of a useful 
and brilliant future. 


HOX. HEXEY BEEEYMAX TEEEELL. 

West. 

The Hon. H. B. Terrell, member of the house in the Twenty- 
i-eventh Legislature, representing the 66th district, composed of 
AleLennan County, was born near Alto, Texas, August 31, 1869. 

His grandfather on his father’s side was George G. Terrell, a 
native Tennesseean, who came to Texas- in 1835 or 1836. Here 
he served as Attorney-General of the Republic when Houston was 
its President, and when Texas was a Republic he was sent as 
minister to England. He died at Austin about the year 1845, 
His grandfather on his mothers side was Dr. P. H. Butler, also a 
native of Tennessee. He died in Cherokee County in 1864. 

His parents are Sam Houston Terrell and Mrs. Julia (Butler) 
Terrell, who is now living at Alto. His father was county treas¬ 
urer of Brazos County from 1871 to 1873, and died at Alto, Texas, 
January 10, 1874. 

Mr. Terrell attended the common schools of Cherokee about six 
years. In 1891 he began farming in McLennan County. In 1896 
he moved to the town of Gholson, in that County, and became a 
merchant. He has been prosperous in this business—which he 
still conducts, though he lives with his family at West. 

When Mr. Terrell took his place in the Legislature he resigned 
as postmaster of Gholson, an office he had held for three years, 
from 1898 to 1901. From the time he became of age he has been 
delegate from McLennan County to every county, district, and 
State convention. In 1898 he attended the State Democratic con¬ 
vention. In that same year, at the Galveston convention, he was 
one of the two of the twenty-one delegates from his county to op¬ 
pose the majority plank in favor cf imperialism. 

While Hon. H. B. Terrell represents the 66th district, composed 
of McLennan County, his brother, G. B. Terrell, of the house, 
represents the 28th district, composed of Cherokee. 


TEXAS OEFICIALS. 


125 


In the primaries, although there were four candidates—two to 
be elected—he led the ticket by a majority of 186, and in the gen¬ 
eral election he had no opposition. 

Mr. Terrell serves on the following committees: Finance, 
Roads, Bridges and Ferries, Insurance, Statistics and History, 
Public Debt, and Penitentiaries. He was appointed on a special 
committee by the speaker to visit the penitentiaries and all places 
where convicts are worked. 

On August 4, 1890, Mr. Terrell was married to Miss Jennie 

eaver of McLennan County. They have six children,—two boys 
and four girls,—all living with their parents. He is a member of 
the order of Odd Fellows. 

Mr. Terrell is always found in his seat in the house, and is an 
able as well as an attentive legislator, whose work, with that of his 
colleague Mr. Xeff, gives McLennan County excellent representa¬ 
tion. 


HOX. WIGFALL VAX SICKLE. 

Alpine. 

One of the two able representatives of the 96th district in the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature is the Hon. Wigfall Van Sickle, who 
was born at Henderson, Rusk County, Texas, December 19, 1862. 

His father, A. K. Van Sickle, was born in 1827 in old Houston 
County, and he is, if not the oldest, one of the oldest living native 
Texans. His mother was Miss Martha ]\I. Wadsworth, daughter 
of General Wadsworth. She died at Henderson February 7, 1890. 

The subject of this sketch was graduated from the Sam Houston 
Xormal Institute, after which for three years he taught school in 
Brewster County. In 1888 he was elected county judge of that 
county and served continuously until 1900, when he was elected to 
the Legislature. He was admitted to the bar in 1892, at Alpine, 
Texas, and has been practicing there ever since. 

He was married at Hallville, Harrison County, May 22, 1895, 
to Miss Alma Hatley, and of this union there is one child. 

Judge Van Sickle has been interested in ranching and stock 
raising for some time in Brewster County. He is a member of 
the Methodist church and of the Masonic and Woodmen of the 
World fraternities. He has an extensive personal acquaintance 
over the State, is well known to his constituency, and was elected 
to the Legislature without any opposition. 

He takes an active part in politics, and his people always elect 
him to the conventions—local and State. He was a member of 


126 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


the State convention which nominated Hon. Jas. S. Hogg for 
Governor the first time. 

Judge Van Sickle is chairman of the committee on Public Lands 
and Land Office, and is a member of the committees on Counties 
and County Boundaries, Stock and Stock Raising, and Mining and 
Minerals. 

The people of the 96th district made no mistake when they se¬ 
lected Judge Van Sickle to represent them in our law-making 
body. He is a courteous gentleman of unquestioned ability, and is 
devoted to the interest of his native State. 


HOX. BEXJAMIX F. BEAX. 

Kirbyville. 

The Hon. Benjamin E. Bean, a member of the house of the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature, represents the counties of Jasper, 
Xewton, and San Augustine, which compose the 34th representa¬ 
tive district. He is of Scotch lineage. His grandfather was a 
Baptist divine, who came to America in the early years of the 
nineteenth century, stopping first in Xorth Carolina, where he 
married, and soon thereafter emigrated to Georgia. Later he re¬ 
moved to ^linden. La., and finally settled at Magnolia Springs, 
in Jasper County, Texas. Here, in the years of a ripe old age, he 
died in .1865. 

His father, James Bean, also a Baptist minister, came with his 
father to Texas in 1851, and settled in Jasper County, where he 
lived for more than thirty ^^ars, or until within two years of his 
death, which occurred in San Angelo in 1886. His mother, 
Martha Caroline Bean, a daughter of Josiah Garrett of Minden, 
La., is now living at Sheffield, Texas. 

Dr. Bean was born at Magnolia Springs, Jasper County, Texas, 
February 12, 1859. He is a graduate of the Kentucky School of 
Medicine, Louisville, Ky., and attended four post graduate courses 
in the Polyclinic of Xew Orleans, including all the branches. 
Since that time he has been engaged in the practice of medicine 
at the home of his youth, where he has been known to all, and 
where he has not only been prosperous in a financial way, but has 
gained local professional prominence. 

Dr. Bean represents a district ascendantly Democratic. He is 
himself a Democrat, but twice has defeated the regular nominee 
of that party for a seat in the Texas Legislature. In each in¬ 
stance he has entered the race by solicitation of a large number 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


127 

of his Democratic friends, and he modestly claims that his elec¬ 
tion has been due alone to the confidence the people have in him. 

He believes the laborer worthy of his hire, and that he ought to 
receive for services performed the full consideration named in 
his contract. To this end he has introduced ''a time-check bill/’ 
which has been engrossed, and if it becomes a law will efiectually 
check a species of ^^discount swindling,” the practice of which is 
now permitted by law. He also favors a tax on timber when sold 
by the State, which is not taxable now. He is a member of the 
Christian church and of the Masonic order. He has been assigned 
to committee work as follows: Public Health and Vital Statistics, 
Contingent Expenses, Insurance, Statistics and History and Stock 
and Stock Raising. As a committeeman he is an active worker; 
as a representative he is watchful, diligent, and deliberate. 


HOX. CHRIS B. CALLAN. 

Sax Axtoxio. 

Bexar County has one flotorial and two direct representatives 
in the State Legislature, and alone composes the 89th district. 
One of its representatives in the Twenty-seventh Legislature is 
the Hon. Chris B. Callan, who was born in Washington, D. C., 
September 10, 1805. His father. Geo. J. Callan, is a native of 
Dublin, Ireland, who came to Richmond, Va., in 1865, and from 
there to Austin, Texas, in 1875, where he has since lived. His 
mother, Mrs. Mary (Ryan) Callan, was also a native of Dublin. 
She died in Richmond, Va., in 1875. 

Mr. Callan is self-educated. He attended school at Austin in 
broken sessions not exceeding aggregately a period of one year. 
Still he is a good English scholar, well informed in the principles 
of political economy, and familial’ with both current and histori¬ 
cal events. The printing office has been his school, and close ob¬ 
servation has been his method of acquiring knowledge. Out of 
the regular line there is no better school, and as a class there are 
no men possessing more valuable general information than the 
printer. When the carefully prepared matter of the young col¬ 
lege-bred editor is sent to the /^case” of the experienced printer, 
to pass under his scrutiny, it there receives its severest criticism. 
From early boyhood Mr. Callan has engaged in this work; in the 
later years of manhood it is his exclusive profession. In the or¬ 
ganization of United Labor the association of printers is leading- 
ly prominent. To the brotherhood of printers Mr. Callan is well 


128 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


known as one of its most active and loyal members. By his com¬ 
bined ability and zeal he has gained that esteem of his fellow 
workingmen which has raised him to position among their leaders^ 
and he was selected as their delegate to the State Democratic con¬ 
vention, held at Waco in 1900, to present to that body the claims of 
a federated union of labor. He there asked that the rights of its 
members be recognized in the party platform, not in a manner sug¬ 
gestive of undemocratic class legislation, but in a way indicative 
of democratic class recognition. As a Labor Union candidate he 
ran both in the Democratic primaries and in the general election. 
In the first he was far in the lead of the next highest of five as¬ 
pirants (with two only to be nominated), and in the general elec¬ 
tion he defeated his Eepublican opponent about three to one. 

Without being neglectful of any other special or general duty as 
a legislator, he is giving faithful attention to his principal mis¬ 
sion. To this end he has introduced and ably advocated a bill 
providing for the general protection, benefit, and public recogni¬ 
tion of organized labor. 

He is chairman of the Committee on Labor, and is member of 
committees on Public Printing, Public Buildings and Grounds, 
and Public Debt. 

Mr. Callan belongs to the orders of the Eed Men, the Eagles, 
and the Maccabees. He is unmarried, is of a genial and social tem¬ 
perament, has many friends, and is evidently in the way of a 
prominent and useful career. 


HOU. JAMES L. FOUNTAm. 

Bryan. 

Brazos and Madison counties, comprising the 55th district, are 
represented in the Twenty-seventh Legislature by the Hon. James 
L. Fountain of Bryan. He is a native of Alabama, born in the 
countv of Dallas, February 5, 1853. His father, James A. Foun¬ 
tain, was a prominent planter of Dallas County, Alabama, prior 
to the Civil war, and in common with others of his class, suffered 
the usual material loss following as a result of that struggle. In 
1865 he sold out his possessions in Alabama and in 1875 removed 
to Texas, selecting Bryan, in Brazos County, as a home, where he 
remained till his death, in 1900. His mother, Mrs. Mary E. Foun¬ 
tain, was a daughter of Dr. Thomas Lilly, a noted physician of 
Macon, Miss., who practiced at that place for many years prior 
to his death, about 1838. She died at Bryan about 1888. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


129 


After acquiring the best education to be obtained in the common 
schools of Dallas County, Alabama, Dr. Fountain attended lectures 
at New Orleans Dental College. He left his home in Alabama 
to come to Texas in 1877, and settled in Bryan where he has since 
lived and continued the practice of dentistry. 

Dr. Fountain has always manifested an interest in educational 
work, and has done much to advance the schools of his town and 
county. For several years prior to his election to a seat in the 
Legislature he was a member of the school board of Bryan. He 
is not a politician, and though frequently participating in local 
political work, he has always let others assume leadership. 

Being urged so to do by his friends and many fellow citizens, he 
sought the nomination as a Democratic candidate for his present 
place. He was virtually nominated before the meeting of his 
county convention, by instructions to precinct delegates. These 
instructions were so largely in his favor that his opponent retired 
from the race. Again, in the general election, he had no opponent. 

Dr. Fountain was married at Bryan, Texas, March 17, 1886, to 
Miss Mary Calhoun. She died at their home in Bryan in 1892. 
Their little daughter, Fannie B., now aged 14, was left to him. 
He has since remained unmarried. He is a member of the Baptist 
church, and is a Mason. He serves on following committees: 
Finance, Education, Eailroad Commission, and Public Debt. He 
is a genial gentleman, popular with his fellow members, and as a 
representative is considered an able man. 


' a 

HON. JOHN N GAENER. 

Uvalde. 

The Hon. John N. Garner of Uvalde represents the 91st legis¬ 
lative district in the Twenty-seventh Legislature. It is composed 
of the counties of Uvalde, Medina, Zavalla, Frio, La Salle, Dim- 
mitt, and McMullin. His antecedents for many generations have 
lived in America, and he is a native of Texas, born in Red River 
County November 22, 1870. His grandfather, J. N. Garner, was 
a native of Tennessee. He was a farmer and lived and died in 
that State. His father, John N. Garner, was born in Tennessee, 
but came to Texas with his widowed mother when he was but six 
years old, and with her settled in Red River County. He was 
raised on a farm and adopted farming as a life pursuit. He mar- 
ritd Miss Sarah Guest of Red River County, the daughter of T. 
M. Guest, who was a native of Texas, and a resident of that county 

9—Gov’t. 


I 


130 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


at the time of her marriage. He died there in 1876. The parents 
of Mr. Garner are still living at their old homestead near Detroit, 
Texas. 

After leaving school Judge Garner studied law with Sims & 
Wright of Clarksville, Texas, and was admitted to the bar there 
in 1890. He has since been in active practive, principally at 
Uvalde, which he has selected as a home and as a central point 
of the field of his professional work. He was county judge of 
Uvalde County for four years, terminating in 1898, since which 
time he has been a member of the Texas house of representatives. 
Since he reached his majority he has not failed to attend any State 
convention held, nor, as well, any of the conventions of his county 
and district. On these occasions he is recognized as a conspicuous¬ 
ly active delegate. In his race for the Twenty-sixth house he re¬ 
ceived a very flattering political compliment in his nomination 
over three fellow-Democratic aspirants by a handsome majority 
vote. The Populists were then strong in his district, but he was 
elected over his opponent by a small majority. In the race for his 
present seat he had no opposition whatever. 

He was married October 25, 1895, at Sabinal, Texas, to Miss 
Ettie Kheiner. They have one child—Tulley. Mr. Garner is a 
Knight of Pythias, a Knight of Honor, and a Woodman of the 
World. He is chairman of Judiciary Ko. 2, and serves on other 
committees. 

Mr. Garner is on the ^‘^progressive lisP^ of Texas legislators. He 
has had the moral courage to oppose all that to him appeared er¬ 
roneous, both State and Kational, though presented in the form 
of a quasi party platform demand. He is rapidly attaining to 
prominence in his chosen profession, and it is prophesied that the 
constituency of a western congressional district may ask him to 
retire from the State Legislature in order that he may render them 
more important service at the Kational capital. 


HON. A. S. HAWKINS. 

Midland. 

The Hon. A. S. Hawkins represents in the Twenty-seventh Legis¬ 
lature the 106th legislative district. 

His grandmother was a granddaughter of Patrick Henry’s 
grandson, Joseph Neely. She was a most remarkable woman, the 
mother of thirteen sons, and a sister to Thomas N. Ralston, the 
author of ‘‘Ralston’s Elements of Divinity.” A. S. Hawkins’ 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


131 


father was Kev. S. J. Hawkins, a leading minister of the Horth 
Texas conference, who came of a leading Tennessee family. His 
brother Alvin was Governor of Tennessee, and twice judge of the 
Supreme Court. His brother Joe was judge of the circuit court, 
anJ Albert, for whom A. S. Hawkins was named, is now judge of 
the chancery court in one of the largest districts in Tennessee. 
Ashton Hawkins, another brother, was State Commissioner of Ag¬ 
riculture. Isaac Hawkins, a cousin, was in Congress and in the 
senate. S. W. Hawkins, another cousin, was the Republican can¬ 
didate for Governor in Tennessee against Bob Taylor, in Taylor^s 
last race. A. S. Hawkins^ mother was a sister to Major E. A. 
Burke of Louisiana, who was most prominent at one time in that 
State. He did more than any one man to rid Louisiana of Re¬ 
publican carpet-bag rule, and when the Tilden-Hayes contest was 
up, by invitation he spoke on the floor of the United States sen¬ 
ate, a privilege accorded to but few private citizens, if indeed it 
has ever been accorded to any other. His speech on this occasion 
lasted six hours, and was a masterly defense of the South, and 
when he had done, James G. Blaine arose in his seat and moved 
that Major Burke’s picture be hung in the senate gallery of illustri¬ 
ous men, and it hangs there to-day. 

A. S. Hawkins was born in Fannin County, Texas, March 31, 
1868. He was raised in eastern Texas and educated in the South¬ 
western University at Georgetown. He lived at Midland for eleven 
vears, but now lives on his cowranch in Winkler County, some 
sixty miles from Midland. He is a lawyer by profession, and was 
appointed district attorney of the 32d judicial district by Governor 
Hogg, in 1893. Before that he had served in the Twenty-third 
Legislature, and was the author of the bill creating the Tuvestock 
Sanitary Commission of Texas. 

He was married in 1895 to Miss Effie Snelson, who lived near 
Thomaston, Ga. She was a most beautiful and accomplished lady, 
and they lived happily together until December 23d last, when 
she died from the effect of a surgical operation. 

Mr. Hawkins’ district embraces thirty counties, territory larger 
than New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Connecticut combined. He 
is one of the foremost members of the house and an able and elo¬ 
quent speaker. 


133 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HOX. JAMES S. JOXES. 

Bastrop. 

Bastrop County composes the 52d legislative district and is rep¬ 
resented in the Twenty-seventh house by one of its native sons, the 
Hon. James S. Jones. He was born in that county December 8, 
1876. In the early days of the American Republic his fore¬ 
parents settled in Virginia. His grandfather, W. D. C. Jones, was 
a native of Kings and Queens County, of that State, but early in 
the forties he came to Texas and settled in Bastrop County. 
There, in the high regard of his fellow citizens, he lived for a 
quarter of a centur}', dying in 1893. The father of Mr. Jones, B. 
F. Jones, was also a native of Bastrop County. He was a well 
known citizen and prominent planter of his section. He died 
there in 1885. His wife, Mrs. Margaret (Wilson) Jones, the 
mother of the subject of this sketch, survives him, and now lives^ 
at the old homestead near Bastrop. Mr. Jones graduated from 
the Virginia Military Institute in 1895, and on returning to his 
home, entered the University of Texas, from which he graduated, 
taking the LL. B. degree, in 1897. He immediately entered into 
the practice of law at Bastrop, and the firm of Jones Jones 
at that place, of which he is a member, is of high professional 
standing. 

Since arriving at the age of manhood, Mr. Jones has taken much 
interest in both local and State good government, and to that end 
has attended and participated in the work of nearly all political 
conventions of the Democratic party. In his race for the present 
Legislaure he triumphed over two fellow-Deniocratic aspirants, 
and won the nomination by a handsome majority. He was op¬ 
posed in the general election by an Independent Republican, whom 
he defeated by about 3500 majority. 

Mr. Jones is unmarried. He belongs to the ^tasonic fraternity 
and is a member of the Order of Red ^len. He serves on commit¬ 
tees as follows: Judiciary Xo. 2, Railroad Commission, Labor, 
and Federal Relations. He is a talented young lawyer, a logical 
thinker, an eloquent speaker, and is able in debate. 


rtXAS OFFICIALS^ 


1S3 


UON\ KKKiU S KYLE. 

Kyl^ 

One v\f xhe iwv> r^>iv>>^e^awuT\>s in the Twnr-^Tvaiii Le^.>- 
lAnii>e^ fT»iB ifte ^Mh Kvi^WtiY^ di^trici. whkL i> vvmi»jAxi v>f 
ihe CAMmut^ of Hiv^ Comal. BlaiKxv ami CilWjnr. i< ihe Hon. 
Fei^> Kvlr of KyIo, Tbough ikh a nanve of Texas, he has been 
long known as iw of its oKlest eitiietts. He was bom in Hiinis 
tWniT. Mississippi. Septeml^r t>. but at the age of ten Tears 
fame with his parents to Texas. His anteeeilents. on both the 
maternal and paternal sides, are of old American families. His 
two grandfathers. Kxle mi the one side and on the other, 

were both fanners, and for the greater part of their lixes citiaens 
of eastern Tennessee. His father. F'lail¥>ni Kvle. was i<»m in Giles 
ConntT. Tennessee, bm soon after his marriage to Miss Loev Biigg. 
they remoxed to Hinds County. Mississippi, where the subjeet of 
this sketch was twm. In 1S44 they came to Texas, settling first 
in Goimies Conniy. but after one year changing their residence to 
Austin, Travis County, and from there two years later, to Hav> 
County, where a permanent home was establishixi. His mother 
died in and his father in iSbs; both are buried near the 

town of Kyle, in Hays Conntr. 

Captain Kyle receixed the best ^niuoation afforded by the com- 
in<m publie and prixate school facilities of the period, supple- 
roented by two terms in Thrall's Ai^ademy. then a pniminent school 
at Ansrin, Texas. From this time till the breaking ont of the 
Cixil war he engaged in farming and stock raising. Just one 
year prior to thi- date he had married, and conscr^uently home 
was rendered the most attractiTe of all places to him. Yet. like 
the many thousands of others of his later eomrades in arms, he 
conceived it his first duty to interpose his persiUi and power as a 
barrier to the approach of any enemy of the country in which that 
home was situated, at Bastrop. Texas, in ISbl. he enlistevl 
as a Confederate soldier. He was a member of the Eighth Texas 
regimcni. known as the Terry Rangers, and served as a private till 
the reorganization of this command at Bowling Green. Ky., when 
he was elected first lieutenant of his c-ompanv. In this capacity 
he served till the battle of Shiloh, when he was promoted to a caj>- 
tainey, and from that time to the close of the w ar he was in com¬ 
mand of his c-ompany. 

Captain Kyle was a member of the house in the Twelfth I^^gis- 
lature. and made a good rec-ord £' a c-onservative legislator. He 



134 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


was sergeant at arms of the senate in both the Seventeenth and 
Eighteenth Legislatures. Not desiring so to do, he has held no 
other public office except such as mayor, alderman, member of 
school board, or some other office pertaining to the government of 
the town of Kyle, which has for many years been his home, and for 
whom it was named. 

Captain Kyle has attended near all conventions, county, dis¬ 
trict, and State, in which he might have.had a voice as delegate, 
that have been held for the last fifteen or more years, and wields a 
political infiuence not confined altogether to the locality of his im¬ 
mediate district. In the primaries nominating him as a candidate 
for his present seat in the house he at first had opposition, but 
when it was known that he would accept the nomination, all oppo¬ 
sition, both in the primaries and in the general election, was vfith- 
drawn. He is an unalloyed Democrat, but in the opinion of his 
constituents, party friends, and political opponents alike, he is a 
good citizen with the ability to serve them faithfully as a legisla¬ 
tor. He is especially interested in the enactment of what is known 
as the ^^San Marcos Normal bill,’' but he' regards every citizen of 
Texas as his constituent, and is watchful of all legislation, either 
local or general. He is chairman of Committee on Agricultural 
Affairs, and is a member of several others of the standing commit¬ 
tees. He is a- member of the Baptist church. He was married 
at Kyle, Texas, in 1860, to Miss Annie E. Moore. During all the 
long years to the present she has been his companion. A large 
family, consisting of nine children, have blessed their home, six 
daughters and three sons. Of these, two daughters are dead, three 
have grown to maturity and left the parental roof, and thus two 
daughters are at home, and a son, now at Cornell University. 


HON. CHAELES E. LANE. 

La Graxge. 

The 45th district, composed of Fayette County, has for one of 
its two representatives in the Twenty-seventh Legislature the Hon. 
Charles E. Lane of La Grange. His family antecedents, for gen¬ 
erations preceding generations, are so thoroughly native to this 
country that he may claim to be only of American lineage. His 
father, Charles J. Lane, and his mother, Mrs. Ellen E. (Crockett) 
Lane, came to Texas in 1855 and settled in Fayette County, where 
the next year, January 20, 1856, Charles E. Lane, whose name 
appears at the head of this sketch, was born. His father was one 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


135 


of the iDioneer Methodist ministers in Texas. For more than a 
quarter of a century he was engaged in that ministerial work, which 
gave him an extended acquaintance over the State and made him 
loved by all who knew him. He died in 1883, and was followed by 
the mother in 1887. Both lie buried at Flatonia, Texas, near the 
place of their first home in the State. 

Mr. Lane acquired in the private schools of Fayette County the 
rudimentary education which, by studious self-culture, he has since 
raised to a high grade of scholarship. After attaining manhood 
he was for twelve years engaged m mercantile pursuits, two years 
of which time he was a commercial traveler. During all these 
years he was gaining the general knowledge which should prepare 
him to enter the profession of law. Following which, after finish¬ 
ing his studies in the law office of Brown & Lane at La Grange, 
he was there admitted to the bar in 1889, where he has since re¬ 
mained and established a good practice. 

For several years Mr. Lane was a citizen of Johnson County, 
and during his residence there began his career of public service 
by filing the mayor’s office of Alvarado one term, 1887 and 1888. 
Next, from 1890 to 1893, he was county attorney of Fayette County, 
then elected to the Twenty-sixth liCgislature, and now is a mem¬ 
ber of the present assembly. He has attended nearly all conven¬ 
tions, local and State, that have been held since he became a voter. 
He was one of the able members of the Twenty-sixth Legislature 
and is credited as being ^^a strong man” in the present body. He 
is chairman of the Committee on Asylums, and is a member of 
several other committees. 

He was married to Miss Carrie T. Cox of Fayette County, 
February 6, 1884. They have six children—four daughters and 
two sons. He is a member of the Methodist church, is a Knight 
of Pythias, and is a Royal Arch Mason. Withal he is an excellent 
gentlemen and substantial citizen whose future is one of bright 
political promise. 


HOK. WILLIAM H. MARSH. 

Tyler 

The Hon. William H. Marsh of Tyler is a native of Texas and 
was born in Smith County, June 25, 1851. In the house of the 
Twenty-seventh legislature he represents the county of his nativity, 
which composes the 23d legislative district. His father was Peter 
Marsh, who was born and reared in Randolph County, North 


13G 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Carolina, and who moved from that State to the Mississippi terri¬ 
tory when the same comprised what is at present the States of 
Alabama and Mississippi. He lived there several years, bnt in 
1847 he came to Texas and settled in Smith County, where he 
died in 1872. His mother, Mrs. Margaret (Hall) Marsh, is a 
native of Georgia. She is now^ living in Smith County at the 
home of her son, the subject of this sketch. 

Mr. Marsh was educated in the common schools of Smith County, 
but took a higher course at the Gilmer School when it was being 
conducted by Professor Morgan H. Looney. After leaving school 
he taught in Smith and Hill counties for about three years, since 
which time he has been attending principally to his farming inter¬ 
ests in Smith County. He has served four years as principal and 
four other years as deputy county clerk of his county, and was 
clerk of the house Finance Committee, serving for the Twenty- 
fifth Legislature. He has attended nearly every State convention 
for about twenty-five years, beginning with that which nominated 
Governors Coke and Hubbard at Austin in 1874. In his race for 
a seat in the Twenty-sixth house he had at first two opponents 
in the primaries, but one wdthdrew and he led the other by 650 
votes. In the general election he defeated a Populist opponent by 
1750 majorit}^, the average majority of the Democratic ticket not 
running above 1000 votes. In his race for the present house he 
had no opponent,, either in nomination or election. 

He was married in Smith County, Texas, in 1872 to Miss Paralee 
Able. They have five children living—Robert Lee, Claude E., 
William B., Harold, and Ethel. They have two dead—Clarice and 
Percy. Mr. Marsh is a member of the M. E. church, is a Mason, 
an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, and belongs to the order of 
Red Men. He serves on committees as follows: Finance, Inter¬ 
nal Improvements, State Asylums, Towns and City Corporations, 
and Public Buildings and Grounds. 

Mr. Marsh, though undemonstrative, is, in his quiet, firm, and 
considerate bearing, an influential representative. His work brings 
Smith County in line with the best represented counties. 

HOK. PAT. M. NEFF. 

Waco. 

McLennan County, composing the 66th representative district, 
has for one of its two members in the house of the Twenty-seventh 
Legislature the Hon. Pat. M. Neff of Waco. He was born at Mc¬ 
Gregor, Texas, November 26, 1872. Though most thoroughly 




TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


137 


American, a genealogical retracing of his ancestral line leads back 
to German origin. His grandfather (Ne:ff) came from Frankfort- 
on-the-Main to America with the Marqnis de Lafa^/ette and settled 
at or near Eoanoke, A a., where, as the first of the American family 
of his name, he lived and died. His grandfather. Shepherd (ma¬ 
ternal side), was of a well known A^irginia family and lived and 
died in that his native State. His father, FToah Aetf, and his 
mother. Airs. Isabella (Shepherd) Neff, were both natives of Vir¬ 
ginia, and came from that State to Texas overland in 1852. They 
settled near AAaco, where Air. Veil, Sr., engaged in the business 
of farming and farm stock raising, which he conducted in a suc¬ 
cessful manner till his death in 1882. The mother still lives at 
their original Texas home, near the town of AIcGregor. 

Air. Nelf is a collegiate of high attainments. In 1894 he was 
graduated from Baylor University, taking the A. B. degree. In 
1897 he had finished a completed law course at the University of 
Texas, and left that institution with the degree of LL. B. Eeturn- 
ing to Baylor, he remained there till the close of the 1897-^98 
session and took the degree of A. Al. Thus equipped, he entered 
the practice of his profession at Waco, Texas. He became asso¬ 
ciated with Air. Barens, and together as the law firm of Heff & 
Barens they have built up a stable and lucrative practice. 

Air. Neff early entered the political field, not as one who wished 
to become famous, as a local political wire-puller, but upon that 
higher and broader plane whereon is based the truer principles of 
statecraft. He has not yet reached his thirtieth year, and though 
comparatively so young, he has twice represented in the State 
Legislature a very populous and one of the wealthiest and most 
intelligent constituencies in the State. He has participated in the 
work of both local and State conventions, and was a delegate from 
his county to the State convention of 1900, held at AFaco. In 
campaign or canvass he shows himself to be a logical speaker and 
an efficient and influential worker. In his first race for the Legis¬ 
lature (1898) before the primaries there were six aspirants besides 
himself for nomination. He led the highest by 1800 votes. 
Again, as to his last race, in the primaries his popularity was 
attested by a handsome majority given him over four others seek¬ 
ing the place. At the general election, in both instances, he had 
virtually no opposition. 

Air. Neff is tacitly recognized both by the public at large and 
his co-representatives as one of the ^^strong men’^ of the house. 
He is regarded as an excellent parliamentarian and as being thor¬ 
oughly acquainted with the rules governing the body of which he 
is a member. He is frequently called to the chair, and once at 


138 


BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES 


the regular session, during the several days^ absence of Speaker 
Prince, he was elected by the house speaker pro tern. He presides 
with ability, dignity, and with that perfect freedom from embar¬ 
rassment which attends the movements of one entirely confident 
of the correctness of his position. He is chairman of the Com¬ 
mittee on Judicial Districts, and serves on other committees. He 
was married May 31, 1899, to Miss Myrtie Mainer, daughter of 
N. J. Mainer of Lovelady, Texas. He is a member of the Bap¬ 
tist church, a Knight of Pythias, and is affiliated with the order of 
Maccabees. 

Mr. Keff did not and does not claim to have any special or pet 
measure to advocate, but he would like to see the election law 
so amended as to bring about a pure ballot. Referring again to 
his position in the appreciation of his fellow-members, already it 
has been declared prophetically by them that high places in the 
line of distinction will fall within the limits of his future attain¬ 
ments. 


HOK. BENJAMIN PALMER. 

Stephenville. 

The Hon. Benjamin Palmer, representing in the house of the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature the 99th district, composed of Erath 
County alone, was born in Russell County, Alabama, August 10,. 
1863. He is a descendant of the noted Palmer and Lewis families 
of Virginia; both of which, from early colonial days to the present 
time, have figured conspicuously in the history-making events at¬ 
tending this entire period. He is the son of Benjamin R. and 
Claudia A. (Lewis) Palmer. His mother was the daughter of 
Judge Ulysses Lewis, a native of Virginia, who prior to his death,, 
which occurred just before the Civil war, was classed with the 
ablest jurists of Alabama, his adopted State. The forefather of 
this Lewis family was Colonel Fielding Lewis, of revolutionary 
fame, who married Bettie Washington, the only sister of George 
Washington, and who owned the old Kenmore homestead, near 
Fredericksburg, Va., where the mother of George Washington 
died. In 1883 the parents of Mr. Palmer left their Alabama home 
and removed to Texas, coming to Navarro County, where, in the 
esteem of new-made friends, they lived to a ripe old age. 

Mr. Palmer was educated at the University of Texas, taking oiily 
an academic course, but later, while engaged in the work of teach¬ 
ing, pursued the study of law and was admitted to the bar at 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


139 


Corsicana, Navarro County, in 1889. After a period of early prac¬ 
tice in Corsicana and the adjacent judicial fields, during which 
time he served two years as city attorney of Blooming Grove, he 
removed to Erath County, locating at Stephensville, where he has 
since resided. He served three years as assistant county attorney 
of Erath County, and has built up an excellent law practice. His 
political faith is uncompromisingly Democratic, and though he 
might with excusable pride boast of his direct lineage from the 
Randolph and other noted first American families, yet it may be 
said that he is also socially a democrat, measuring the worth of 
his fellowman by the standard of merit alone. He has been active 
as a party worker in every State campaign dating from that of 
1886, and has been present at every important political meeting 
or convention held since that time. Erath County was a recog¬ 
nized Populist stronghold, being the home of such distinguished 
leaders of that party as Judge Nugent and Evan Jones. Not¬ 
withstanding these counter influences, he was elected to the 
Twenty-sixth Legislature by a majority of 963 votes over his 
Populist opponent, the Hon. U. J. Morton, and increased his 
majority to 2100 in his recent election to the Twenty-seventh 
Legislature over his opponent, the Hon. Isaac Fuller. 

In the Twenty-sixth Legislature he opposed the existing sys¬ 
tem of leasing the State school lands, so that actual settlers could 
become purchasers of homes out of those lands. What was then 
mere agitation, by his support in debate of this question, has grown 
in popular opinion to be considered an act of needed legislation. 

His wife^s maiden name was Miss Bettie Hughes of Gwinnett 
County, Georgia. They have three sons; the oldest, Lewis K., 
aged 12, is now a page in the senate; the other two, Ben., Jr., and 
Frank, are aged respectively 10 and 8 years. Mr. Palmer has 
already rendered his State valuable service, and being yet com¬ 
paratively a young man, the promise of a brilliant career is before 
him. 


HON. BURRELL A. RAGLAND. 

PiTTSBUKG. 

The Hon. Burrell A. Ragland of Pittsburg represents in the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature the 25th legislative district, which is 
composed of Camp and Upshur counties. His father, A. Ragland, 
was a Georgian, who came from that State to Texas and after¬ 
wards married Miss M. E. Clayton, the mother of the Hon. B. A. 
Ragland. 


140 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Mr. Ragland was born in Morris County, Texas, March 13, 1874. 
On reaching his majority he chose journalism as a profession, and 
is now the proprietor and publisher of two standard Democratic 
newspapers having extensive circulation, and which are appre¬ 
ciated by their many readers. This professional work has brought 
Mr. Ragland face to face with all questions of political import. 
He has always been found on the right side in local governmental 
affairs, and as a writer and speaker he is regarded as being an able 
champion or a vigorous contestant as he may be called to support 
or oppose a presented question. He was opposed in the primaries 
by Judge T. H. Briggs of Gilmer, and in the general election by 
the Hon. C. T. Phillips of Camp County, who was a member of 
the Twenty-sixth Legislature. He was nominated and elected by 
flattering and complimentary majorities. 

Mr. Ragland enjoys an extensive acquaintance with the public 
men of the State. He knows and is known by all members of the 
press and is highly esteemed by all. He is affable and of dignified 
mien. He was married January 18, 1893, to Miss Annie E. Hull, 
at Daingerfield, Texas. Two children have been born to them— 
Waughine, of whom they have been bereaved, and Wirtur, who is 
left to bless their home. He is a member of the Masonic order, 
and belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen, to the 
Woodmen of the World, and to the Knights of Pythias. In the 
present house he serves on committees as follows: Revenue and 
Taxation, State Affairs, Public Printing, and Penitentiaries. 

Mr. Ragland is known not to be antagonistic to sobriety, but 
he is of record as having made a most vigorous protest against the 
serious consideration of a resolution offered in the house to invite 
Mrs. Nation, of Kansas and hatchet fame, to address the Texas 
Legislature.' There were several bills introduced in the house this 
session to exempt the merchant and lawyer from the payment of 
occupation taxes, and it was through the efforts of Mr. Ragland 
that the bills above spoken of will not come before the Legislature 
this session, thereby saving the State from a humiliating deficit 
in revenue, in view of the liberal appropriations that this session 
has made. This was done by Mr. Ragland believing that if the 
merchants and lawyers were exempted from payment of occupation 
taxes then the deficit that would follow, the farmer, and not the 
merchant and lawyer, might have to pay. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


141 


HON. F. W. SEABUEY. 

Eio Grande City. 

The 85th legislative district is composed of Cameron, Starr, 
Hidalgo, and Zapata counties, and has two representatives. One 
of them, the Hon. F. W. Seabury, who was a member of the 
Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Legislatures from that district, 
has again been returned by his constituents to the present house. 
Mr. Seabury is a descendant of an old family of this name that 
came from Somersetshire, England, and settled in Boston, Mass., 
in 1639. His grandfather, F. W. Seabury, Sr., was a retired sea 
captain, who settled in Norfolk, Va., about the year 1830 and en¬ 
gaged in the wholesale and retail boot and shoe business, which, 
after his death, was conducted by his sons until a few years ago 
in the name of “F. W. Seabury Sons.^^ His father, W. H. Sea¬ 
bury, a retired merchant, and his mother, Mrs. Martha (Hicks) 
Seabur}^, are still living at Norfolk, Va., the birthplace of the 
subject of this notice, who was born there May 10, 1868. 

Mr. Seabury is a gentleman of high scholastic attainments. 
After a finished course of academic training in the best preparatory 
schools, he entered the University of Virginia and was graduated 
from that institution in 1888. From 1888 to 1890 he taught 
school at Leesburg and at Culpeper, in northern Virginia. In 
1890 he left his native State and came to Texas, selecting Browns¬ 
ville as a place of residence. Here he entered the law office of 
the Flon. James B. Wells, and after due preparation, in 1891 was 
admitted to the bar. He practiced at Brownsville and within 
that judicial district till 1895, when he removed to Eio Grande 
and became associated in practice with Judge J. E. Monroe. 
As a law firm, under the name of Monroe & Seabury, they have 
the larger part of the legal business of their immediate section. 
Mr. Seabury was city attorney of Brownsville in 1894, and in 1896 
was county attorney of Starr County. 

He has attended only a few conventions, but has done much from 
the stump and through the press to keep Democracy ascendant in 
his section of the State. He has been the Democratic nominee 
in the three instances of his candidacy for the Legislature without 
opposition, and was nominated for his last race without his 
knowledge and after he had announced his intention not to run. 
He, however, felt it his duty to accept, and in this general election, 
as in the other two, he was met by a Eepublican opponent whom 
he defeated by a good majority. 


142 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCPIES 


Mr. Seabury is a Democrat of the original faith. He does not 
believe that the Democratic party needs ‘‘'reconstructing/^ but he 
would like to see the “silver question^^ eliminated from the gen¬ 
eral platform as a national party issue. He would like also to see 
the party adopt a policy of “Democratic expansion^'’ in keeping 
with the principles advocated by its fathers and founders, and 
which, as he states it, would be equidistant from Eepublican Im¬ 
perialism on the one side and Little Americanism on the other. 
He is chairman of the Committee on Rules, and a member of only 
one other committee, Judiciar}^ ISTo. 1. His committee assign¬ 
ments reveal very clearly the scope of his abilities. Mr. Seabury 
is generally regarded as the ablest parliamentarian of the house. 
He is the author of the present rules of the house, and is frequently 
in the chair, where he presides well and impartially. In the 
Judiciary Committee, to which are referred fully one-third of all 
bills introduced in the Legislature, he is known as a hard worker 
and an able lawyer. 

He is unmarried. He is a member of the Episcopal church, 
but in obtaining the data from which thi« sketch is written it was 
not learned whether or not he is a member of any of the fraternal 
societies. Mr. Seabury has rendered valuable service to the State 
by his careful attention to legislation and his cool, practical 
judgment untiringly exercised. His friends predict for him a 
brilliant future both in law and politics. Southwest Texas ex¬ 
pects to present his name for the speakership of the next house. 


HON. OAYLE TALB04\ 

Slidell. 

One of the representatives in the Twenty-seventh Legislature 
from Wise County, which composes the 11th legislative district, is 
the Hon. Gayle Talbot (journalisi) of Slidell. He was born in 
Matagorda County, Texas, April 14, 1869. His ancestry are 
originally from England, but his family is several generations old 
in America. His grandfather, Matthew Talbot, came to Texas in 
an early day. He was a lawyer, and for a number of years was 
county judge of Matagorda County. He died at Calvert, Texas, 
about the year 1875. His wife, the grandmother of Mr. Talbot, 
was Miss Gayle of Alabama, a near relative of the late Governor 
Gayle of that State. His father, Gayle Talbot, Sr., removed from 
Matagorda County to Stephensville, Erath County, where he en¬ 
gaged in merchandising, and died in Comanche County in 1879. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


143 


His mother, Mrs. Fidelia Talbot, was the daughter of the late 
Hon. John Eice Jones, who at one time was postmaster-general 
of the Eepublic of Texas. She died June 15, 1872, at Caney, in 
Matagorda County. 

Mr. Talbot was educated in the common schools of the country 
and in the lines of his chosen profession. He has been engaged 
in newspaper work almost continuously since he reached the age 
of 12 years. When no older than this he was placed upon his 
own resources by the death of his father, his mother having died 
when he was 3 years old. He began work then at Dublin, Texas, 
as a printer apprentice in flie olhce of S. M. Vernon, recently 
president of the Texas Press Association, and he is now editor and 
proprietor of the Courier, a substantially good local Democratic 
journal published at Slidell, Texas. He was nominated for his 
present seat by receiving at the primaries a majority vote of 1200 
over the next highest of the two aspirants who were opposing 
him. The Populist candidate in the general election was an ex- 
representative, having been a member of the Twenty-fourth Legis¬ 
lature, whom he defeated by an overwhelming majority. 

Mr. Talbot is author of the resolution offered in the house to 
amend the State Constitution so that the pensions of Confederate 
veterans might be increased. He showed intense interest in this 
resolution, and very ably advocated its adoption. 

He was married in 1894 to Miss Margaret 0. Brown of Co¬ 
manche, Texas. They have one child, Grace, a little daughter, 
approaching her fifth year. He serves on the following commit¬ 
tees: Public Lands and Land Office, Public Printing, Hoads, 
Bridges and Ferries, Railway Commission, and Enrolled Bills. 

Mr. Talbot is a member of the IMethodist church. He is a 
young man of characteristic firmness, and belongs to that class of 
our Texas citizens who, whether in the halls of legislation or in 
the private walks of life, may be relied on in the conscientious 
performance of personal duty. 


HON. ALBERT A. ALDRICH. 

Crockett. 

Aldrich is the name of an old family that came over to New 
England with the Puritans. From this American ancestral head 
is descended the Hon. Albert A. Aldrich, who represents in the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature the county of Houston, which com¬ 
poses the 30th representative district. He was born at Crockett, 


144 


BIOGKAIMIICAL SKETCHES 


Texas, April 10, 1858, and is the son of Oliver Cromwell Aldrich 
and Mrs. Eliza (Masters) Aldrich, who were almost lifelong resi¬ 
dents of Houston County. 

Mr. Aldrich, Sr., was county clerk of Houston County for 
nearly fliirty years, and died there in 1889, having survived Mrs. 
Aldrich, his wife, about fifteen years. 

Mr. xVldrich after finishing his common school education at¬ 
tended the TTniversity of Virginia for one year. Mr. Aldrich was. 
admitted to the bar in 1883 in his native town of Crockett, where 
he has since practiced with succcess and is now senior member of 
the law firm of Aldrich & Lipscomb of that place. He was one of 
the aldermanic board of Crockett, 1890 to 1892 inclusive; was. 
county judge of Houston County for four years, terminating in 
1896; has attended, as a delegate. State conventions, San Antonio,. 
1890; Houston (Hogg and Clark), 1892; Fort Worth, 1896, and 
the Waco convention of 1900. He has worked for the Democratic 
ticket always and in all places where such service has been neces¬ 
sary. When there was such a demand, either locally or for the 
State ticket, he has stumped or canvassed the territory where his 
work would prove most beneficial to his party. In his race for the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature he was opposed in the primaries by 
three ex-representatives, but in the general election he had no 
opponent. 

He was married March 16, 1881, to Miss Willie Arledge of 
Crockett. They have several children, boys and girls. The oldest 
daughter, Miss Alhertine, is now attending the State University. 
Mr. Aldrich is chairman of the committees appointed to visit the 
asylum at Terrell and the orphans’ home at Corsicana. He is also 
serving on the following standing committees: Judiciary Ho. 2, 
Penitentiaries, Education, and State Asylums. He is a Christian 
gentleman, and is regarded as being a safe representative of the 
interests of his people. 


HOH. JOHN M. ACKERMAN. 

Navasota. 

Grimes County, composing the 54th district, is represented in 
the house of the Twenty-seventh Legislature by the Hon. John 
1\I. Ackerman. He is a descendant of one of the old Knicker¬ 
bocker families and is a native of Albany County, in the State of 
New York, where he was born Myy 4, 1857. Before the Revolu¬ 
tion his foreparents came from Antwerp, Holland, and settled 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


145 


with the Dutch colonists in the territory which is now New York 
State. His mother^s father was for several terms a member of 
the General Assembly of New York, and afterwards county judge 
of Albany County, New York,—at that time a position of judicial 
distinction. On his maternal side Mr. Ackerman is nearly re¬ 
lated to General Van Antwerp, who was a noted Federal general 
in the war between the States. He is also closely related to Judge 
Ver Plank, who was for a long time on the Supreme Bench of the 
State of New York. His father, Ver Plank Ackerman, and his 
mother, who was Miss Catherine McCarty, were both natives of 
Albany County, where they were married in 1854. Prior to his 
marriage his father came South, stopping at New Orleans, where 
he attended medical college and graduated as a physician. But 
about this time there was much excitement growing out of the 
Texas-Mexican war (1836), and Dr. Ackerman came to Texas to 
fight in the cause of her independence. He entered the Texan 
army as a lieutenant, and after serving to the close of the war he 
remained for a period of several years as a citizen of Texas. 
Later he returned to New York, married, and again came to 
Texas, settling in Grimes County, where he died in 1865, and was 
follow^ed in death by his wife in 1882, both being buried in the 
town of Navasota. 

In home schools Mr. Ackerman obtained a good English educa¬ 
tion. He grew to manhood in the town of Navasota, where he 
early thereafter began a mercantile business. Eemaining there 
continuously since, he has grown in prosperity and accumulation to 
the rank of a highly successful merchant. Beyond the ordinary 
duties of a private citizen, Mr. Ackerman has been but little in 
politics. He was for ten or twelve years a member of the Navasota 
board of aldermen. This office, however, is one that seeks the, 
man, and generally looks more for a patriot than for a politician. 
But in the course of events there came a time when he, with 
others, saw fit to rise and act. As voters, the ignorant negroes 
were largely in the majority and kept the county government in 
the hands of those who were highly objectionable to the white 
class. A local body known as the “White Man's Union" was 
organized, and Mr. Ackerman became one of its leaders and most 
active workers. Following as a result, at the last election the 
entire Democratic ticket was successful, the negroes deserting their 
Populist and Eepublican leaders and many of them failing to vote 
at all. 

He has been married twice. His first wife was Miss Annie 
Gaston; his second, Mrs. Jennie C. Kilpatrick, who was formerly 
Miss Brigance. He is the father of four children—Annie Gert- 

10—Gov’t. 


146 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


rude, Ben Calhoun, and George G., children of his first wife, and 
another, Mary Catherine, the daughter of his living wife. His son 
Greorge G. died in early childhood. 

Mr. Ackerman is unpretentious and unassuming. He is re¬ 
garded by his fellow representatives as being an able and con¬ 
servative lawmaker. 


HON. WILLIAM P. TAPPET. 

Lamarque. 

Galveston County composes the 39th district, and is entitled to 
two representatives in the house of the State Legislature. One 
of these, now a member of the Twenty-seventh Legislature, is the 
Hon. William P. Tarpey of Lamarque. Mr. Tarpey is of Irish 
lineage. His father was a prominent Galveston County farmer 
who came to Texas in 1850 and settled at Lamarque, near which 
place he farmed successfully till his death, which occurred in 
1876. His mother, whose maiden name was Miss (Mary) Gal¬ 
lagher, survives her husband and now lives at the old family 
homestead. 

Mr. Tarpey was born at Lamarque, Texas, May 22, 1873, and 
was educated in the common schools of Galveston. He still re¬ 
sides at the old homestead. After leaving school and arriving at 
his majority Mr. Tarpey became a grocery merchant at Lamarque, 
in which business he remained three years. At the end of this 
time he closed out to assume the duties of assistant superintendent 
of roads for Galveston County. This is an important county 
office, and was filled by him more than three years, or from Sep¬ 
tember, 1893, to December, 1897. From February, 1898, to Oc¬ 
tober, 1900, he was custodian of the courthouse and public records 
of Galveston County. He is very active in local politics, and he 
has been recognized as a prominent figure in the last four county 
conventions. In a community among the residents of which there 
are many public men, as is the case in Mr. Tarpey’s district, it is 
not to be supposed that any office may be had without considerable 
effort on the part of the aspirant or his friends. In his recent 
race for the Legislature he secured the nomination after a very 
close contest, but following this, though opposed in the general 
election by three candidates of anti-Democratic faith, he led the 
race, in a district vote of 4000, by more than 1200 votes. In the 
matter of seeking relief for Galveston, Mr. Tarpey has proved him¬ 
self to be an energetic and influential worker. In conjunction 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


147 


with his colleague, Mr. Nolan, he hopes to influence the Legisla¬ 
ture to do all that constitutional law will permit toward the end 
of accomplishing that purpose. 

He was married December 6, 1892, to Miss Cora Westerlage, 
daughter of John Westerlage, Galveston’s former chief of police. 
They have three children—Harold, Cora, and Agnes. He is on 
the following committees: Counties and County Finances, 
Eoads, Bridges and Ferries, Labor, Public Lands and Land Office, 
and Penitentiaries. 

He is a member of the Knights of Maccabees and a Woodman of 
the World. He is comparatively a young man, and if he should 
continue in public life he exhibits promise of usefulness to his 
State. 


HON. WILLIAM T. SHANNON. 

Belton. 

The Hon. William T. Shannon of Belton is one of the two 
representatives from Bell County (which composes the 65th legis¬ 
lative district ) now occupying seats in the Twenty-seventh Legisla¬ 
ture. He is a lawyer by profession, and a native of Texas, born 
in Walker County, February 8, 1855. His grandfather, John 
Shannon, was a Montgomery County planter, who came to Texas 
from Arkansas in 1836. His father, William C. Shannon, was 
also a native Texan, raised in Montgomery and Walker counties. 
For about twenty years, or until his death in 1874, he was a promi¬ 
nent farmer of Grimes County, to which he had removed from 
Walker, in 1856. His mother, Mrs. Martha J. Shannon, was the 
daughter of Boderick McNair, a teacher and farmer who removed 
from his native State, North Carolina, to Mississippi, and from 
there to Texas in 1849. She was born in North Carolina and died 
in Grimes County in 1876. 

i\Ir. Shannon was educated at Trinity University, and was 
there from 1874 to 1879 inclusive. He afterwards attended Cum¬ 
berland University, Tennessee, and took the LL. B. degree in 1890. 
In that year he located at Belton, Texas, where he has since lived 
and pursued his professional avocation. He is now a member of 
the law firm of Shannon & Eobinson of that place. He was city 
attorney of Belton from 1882 to 1886; was county attorney of 
Bell County from 1886 to 1890, and was district attorney of the 
27th Judicial district, the Jurisdiction of which includes Bel] 
County, from 1890 to 1896. He has attended nearly all State and 


148 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


local conventions held in recent years, and was elected a member 
of the Twenty-sixth Legislature from his district in 1898. In 
that race he defeated two opponents in the primaries, and in the 
general election beat the Populist candidate by an overwhelming 
majority. In his last race there were three aspirants in the pri¬ 
maries for nomination. He and his colleague, the Hon. Mr. Crad¬ 
dock, were successful, with Mr. Shannon well in the lead. In the 
general election they were opposed by two Populist candidates, 
whom they defeated by a very large majority. 

He was married in Sherman, Texas, in 1883, to Miss Alice 
Wantland of that city. They have five children, four sons and 
one daughter—Wantland, Boyd, John Wilson, William T., Jr., 
and Mary Lucy—William T. being the youngest. He is chairman 
of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments, and serves as 
a member of other committees. 

Mr. Shannon is a member of the Presbyterian church. He is a 
representative leading citizen of his State. He has experience and 
legislative ability of a high order, and in whatever capacity he 
may be called to wait upon them, his people will find in him a 
faithful and conscientious servant. ' 


HON. WILLIAM J. EUSSELL. 

Brownsville. 

The 85th legislative district, composed of the counlies of Cam¬ 
eron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Zapata, has for one of its representa¬ 
tives in the Twenty-seventh Legislature the Hon. William J. 
Bussell of Brownsville. He was born at Eutersville, Fayette 
County, Texas, December 12, 1865. His ancestors emigrated from 
England to America prior to the Eevolution and settled in the 
colonies along the southern Atlantic coast. His grandfather, 
William J. Bussell, was a native of North Carolina. He came 
to Texas in ]826, before she entered the war for her independ¬ 
ence, and participated in that struggle as a captain in the Texas 
navy. His wife moulded the first bullet and he fired it from the 
first gun shot in the Texas-Mexican war. In addition to being 
captain in the navy at the Velasco engagement, he was also in 
what is known as the /'Grass Eight,’’ and was in the campaign 
against Bexar, the most memorable except that which culminated 
in final victory at San Jacinto. He was a senator in the first 
Congress of the young Bepublic; and often after, though un¬ 
official, his opinions infiuenced the deliberations of important 


TEXAS OFEICIALS. 


149 


councils. Eipe in age and honors, he died at San Antonio, Texas, 
Xovember 5, 1881. William H. Eussell, the father of the subject 
of -this sketch, was a prominent Texas lawyer. It has been said 
oFTiim that ^‘at .the age of twenty he carried upon his shoulders 
the head of forty.’" It was well known to all in that day that, 
though a young man. General Houston leaned upon him with the 
reliance that follows the purest friendship and perfect confidence. 
He was appointed by Governor Houston to represent Texas in the 
^Toundary commission,’’ created to determine territorial domain 
as between Texas and the United States. He was a major of 
engineers in the Confederate army; was district judge of the 
Brownsville judicial district, and was a member of the Texas 
senate during Governor Coke’s administration. He died at 
Laredo, Texas, in November, 1882. His mother, Mrs. Marion 
Eussell, was the daughter of the Hon. David Williams of Sumter 
County, Alabama, in which county and State she was born and 
reared. She died at Laredo, Texas, in 1883. 

Mr. Eussell was educated principally in the public schools of 
Brownsville, but for a long time after leaving school he had the 
facilities of pursuing privately an educational course. He taught 
school in Cameron County for some years, during which time he 
studied law, and in 1892 was admitted to the bar at Brownsville. 
Under the first administration of President Cleveland he was post¬ 
master at Brownsville, but he has never held any other office 
except that of legislative representative. He is now serving his 
third term as a member of the house. He was a representative in 
the Twenty-third Legislature, elected again to the Twenty-sixth, 
and is now sitting with the present body. He has had no opposi¬ 
tion at the polls in any of his three elections to the house. Mr. 
Eussell’s district embraces a large territory, throughout and beyond 
the limits of which he is well and favorably known. He is 
usually an active participant in the proceedings of his local and 
district conventions, and has done much toward keeping his con¬ 
stituency in Democratic lines. 

Mr. Eussell is unmarried. He is a member of the Episcopal 
church. Of the standing committees, he is chairman of that on 
Federal Eolations, and serves as a member of Judiciary No. 1, and 
the Committee on Irrigation. Natural ability combined with his 
experience as a legislator places him on the list of able repre¬ 
sentatives. 


150 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON. SEMMES WILDEE PARISH. 

Calvert. 

The Hon. Semmes Wilder Parish of Calvert, representative from 
Robertson County, which alone composes the 63d legislative dis¬ 
trict, was born in Harrison County, Texas, December 26, 1872. 
His foreparents are ‘^^old Americans,^^ who in an early day settled 
in the Carolinas. His grandfather, I. S. Parish, removed from 
North Carolina to Tennessee, and after living in that State a num¬ 
ber of years left with his family (about 1850) and came to Rob¬ 
ertson County, Texas. Here he lived the remainder of his days, 
dying there in 1886. His father, L. H. Parish, was born in 
Weekly County, Tennessee, and came to Texas with his parents 
when he was only 8 years old. He grew to manhood in Robertson 
County and has gained prominence as a successful business man 
and influential citizen. He has been-identified with nearly every 
enterprise that tended toward the development of his section, and 
is now a director and vice-president of the Calvert, Waco & Brazos 
Valley Railroad. His mother, Mrs. Martha J. Parish, is the 
daughter of the late Judge N. Wilder, an able jurist and promi¬ 
nent Red River planter of Arkansas, who died at Texarkana in 
1887. 

Mr. Parivsh, after an excellent preparatory course in his home 
schools, attended the Military Institute at Staunton, Va., and later 
was graduated from the University of Virginia. He also took a 
thorough business course at the Galveston Commercial College. 
Thus equipped, he immediately began an active business life. 
Besides his principal business interest, which is in that of the 
mercantile firm of Parish & Proctor, at Calvert, he is identified 
with the Calvert Furniture Company and also with the Calvert 
Lumber Company. Aside from the mercantile line, he is a prin¬ 
cipal stockholder in and a director and secretary of the Brazos Val¬ 
ley Coal, Clay, and Manufacturing Company; is secretary of the 
Robertson County Fair Association, and is proprietor of the 
^“^Parish Dairy Herd^^ of registered Jersey cattle. 

He has attended all the State and other principal conventions 
for the last nine years, and is quite influential in local politics. 
Mr. Parish was a member of the Twenty-sixth Legislature. In the 
primaries nominating him for that seat he had three opposing 
aspirants. He was successful, and defeated his Populist opponent 
in the genera] election by about 2800 majority. In his last race 
he again had three opponents in the primaries, but had no opposi- 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


151 


tion in the final election. His name has been on the roll of the 
Texas Volunteer Guard since 1888. He held the commission of 
captain from 1891 to 1898. He answered the call for volunteers 
in the Spanish-American war, and with his company was accepted 
and served until the close of the vrar. He was afterward elected 
major of the Second infantry, T. Y. G., which position he now 
holds. He is a member of the M. E. church; is a Mason, an Odd 
Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, and is a member of the Order of Eed 
Men. He is chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, and 
a member of the Finance Committee, and serves on other import¬ 
ant committees. 

On May 13, 1901, about one month after the adjournment of 
the regular session of the Twenty-seventh Legislature, Mr. Parish 
was married to one of Austin^s favorite and most highly accom¬ 
plished young ladies. Miss Katherine Hamilton. She is the second 
daughter of the late Frank Hamilton, Es(j., of Austin, who for 
many years was one of the most prominent bankers of Texas; and 
is the granddaughter of Governor J ack Hamilton, who after death, 
as in life, was honored in the line of the Statens chief executives. 

As a member of the Twenty-sixth Legislature Mr. Parish allied 
himself with the element favoring progressive legislation, and as 
to his position in the present body he expresses himself as being 
opposed to any form of legislation that will retard the prosperity of 
the State. 


HOK. W. E. McCLELLAK. 

Coleman. 

The Hon. W. E. McClellan was born in Washington County, 
Texas, May 5, 1846. He represents in the Twenty-seventh Legis¬ 
lature the 108th district, composed of Coleman and Brown coun¬ 
ties. He was also a member of the Twenty-sixth Legislature from 
the same district. His father, W. B. McClellan, was born in 
Eockingham County, North Carolina. In early life he removed 
to Tennessee, and from there to the town of Burton, Washington 
County, Texas, in 1840. He was all this time engaged in mer¬ 
cantile business, and at his death, in 1880, he was doubtless one 
of the oldest merchants in the State. The mother of Mr. Mc¬ 
Clellan, Mrs. Juliet L. McClellan, was the daughter of General 
Smith, who was killed at the battle of New Orleans. She died 
near Burton, Texas, in 1885. 

Before reaching manhood (at the age of 17) Mr. McClellan left 


152 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


school to become a soldier in the Confederate arm}^ He was a 
member of Company F, Twenty-first Texas cavalry, and served in 
the Trans-Mississippi department throughout the war with Par¬ 
sons’ brigade. On his return from the war he became a partner 
at Ledbetter with his father for awhile; later he assumed entire 
control of that business, which from that time was carried on 
in his name. He was successful as a merchant, and remained at 
Ledbetter till 1892, when he closed out .and removed to Coleman 
County, where in 1893 he embarked largely in the cattle business. 

He has attended nearly all Democratic State conventions for 
the last twenty years, and has always worked with and for the 
party. In the race for the Twenty-sixth Legislature he was 
opposed by one aspirant in the primaries, whom he led by 2300 
votes. He had no opponent in the general election. In his elec¬ 
tion to a seat in the present house he had no opponent either in the 
primaries or in the general election. 

In the matter of legislation he would especially like to see the 
present land lease line so extended as to allow the homeseeker an 
opportunity to acquire a cheap homestead. He serves on commit¬ 
tees: Contingent Expenses, Agricultural Affairs, Asylums, Stock 
and Stock Eaising, and Commerce and Manufactures. 

He is a member of the Christian church, and belongs to the 
Masonic fraternity. He was married May 2, 1866, in Washington 
County, Texas, to Miss Lou E. Ratliff, daughter of Thomas R. Rat¬ 
liff of Jackson, Miss., who came to Texas in 1865. Of their four 
children, the youngest, Mildred, is now 13 years old. The others 
are: Mary (now Mrs. H. J. O’Hair), Lelia (now Mrs. 0. John¬ 
ston), and Claude, a rising young lawyer; all living at Coleman, 
Texas. 

Mr. McClellan is one of the oldest native-born Texans in the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature. By his observation, his experience, 
his education, and his native intelligence, he is endowed with a 
high order of legislative ability. 


HON. HENRY M. NOWLIN. 

Center Point. 

Under the existing order of divisional representation, Texas is 
composed of 108 districts, which send to the house of the State 
Legislature 128 representatives. The 92d district, composed of 
Kerr, Kendall, and Bandera counties, though carrying a con¬ 
stituency largely Democratic, stands out from all others, dis- 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


153 


tiiictive, as being the only district of the State that is represented 
by a Eepublican. The Hon. Henry M. Nowlin of Center Point is 
the member who thus stands alone as the only representative of 
the predominating National party belonging to the Twenty-seventh 
Legislature. 

Mr. Nowlin is of Irish and Scotch-Irish descent. Three Nowlin 
brothers— J ames, M illiam, and John—on account of religious 
persecution, left the north of Ireland and came to America in the 
year 1700. James settled in the colony of Virginia, John in 
Massachusetts, and V illiani in New York. They are the ante¬ 
cedents of all those bearing that name to be found in the various 
States of the Union, among whom is the subject of this sketch. 
His father. Dr. James C. Nowlin, came from Missouri to Texas 
in 1855 and located in Gonzales County. In connection with the 
practice of medicine he engaged in the business of stock raising, 
the better management of which, in the days of open or common 
range in Texas, required the frequent moving of herds from section 
to section of the grazing districts. In accordance with this order 
of convenience, after one year he went from Gonzales to Kerr, and 
later from Kerr to Kendall. He was located in Kendall about 
twenty years, but returned again to Kerr, where he established a 
permanent home, at which he remained till his death in 1898. Mr. 
Nowlin^s mother was Miss Annie E. Gathling, daughter of Daniel 
Gathling of Hardeman County, Tennessee, where she and Dr. 
Nowlin were married. She is still living at her home in Center 
Point, Texas. 

After having acquired a good common school education, in the 
days of his earlier manhood, Mr. Nowlin did some work in the 
salesman and clerical lines, but he has always made farming and 
stock raising his chief business pursuit. Though elected as an 
■^Tndependent,^^ he is a stanch Eepublican in National politics and 
always votes the congressional and National Eepublican tickets. 
He made the race for his seat in the Legislature against the 
regular Democratic nominee and defeated him by a majority of 
600 in a total of 2600 votes. Without any reward or hope of 
reward other than that which waits upon adherence to honest 
convictions, Mr. Nowlin, a native-born Texan, has declared him¬ 
self of the Eepublican party faith. This alliance has perhaps 
rendered him unpopular politically, but not so personally. Where 
geniality, ability, firmness of character, and social merit are pro¬ 
ductive of public esteem, the claims of Mr. Nowlin will be well 
presented. 

He is opposed to any legislation that will drive away capital or 
retard the development of the State. As to constitutional amend- 


154 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


ments, he would like to see the number of representatives reduced 
to sixty-two, or to just twice the size of the senate; also a fixed 
salary paid members in lieu of the present per diem and mileage 
system. His reasons for the change, briefly stated, are that it 
would insure abler statesmen who would render the service more 
efficiently, and that the work would be facilitated by thus obviating 
unwieldiness. 

He serves on Committees on Public Lands and Land Office, 
State Affairs, Public Health and Vital Statistics, and Irrigation. 
He is unmarried, and is not a member of any fraternal organiza¬ 
tion excepting the Woodmen of the World. 

The writer in conversation with Mr. Nowlin heard him express 
great pleasure in being able to say that, although the only Repub¬ 
lican in the Twenty-seventh Legislature, he had been treated by the 
whole body of both the senate and house with uniform courtesy 
and kindness. He believes this to be the ablest and most liberal 
Democratic body ever assembled in Texas. 


HON. HENRY R. McINNIS. 


Llano 


The representative in the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the 
93d legislative district, composed of Llano and Mason counties, 
is .the Hon. Henry R. Mclnnis of Llano. He was born at Yazoo 
City, Miss., November 22, 1841. His grandfather, Daniel Mc¬ 
lnnis, came from Scotland to America and first settled in North 
Carolina, but later, about the year 1825, moved to Green County, 
Mississippi, where he died at the age of 85. His father, Rich¬ 
mond Mclnnis, was a Presbyterian minister. He was a native 
of Green County, Mississippi, and died near the town of Newton 
in Newton County of that State in 1881, aged 65 years. His 
mother, Mrs. Mary Ann Mclnnis, was the daughter of the Rev. 
Dr. Joshua T. Russell, a Presbyterian minister, who lived the 
better part of his life in Mississippi, dying in 1854. Mrs. Mc¬ 
lnnis was born in the city of Baltimore, which was then the home 
of Dr. Russell. She died at Canton, Miss., in 1882. 

Judge Mclnnis was educated in the schools of Mississippi and 
Louisiana. He was a student at Oakland College when the Civil 
war came on, and left college to become a Confederate soldier. 
He enlisted as a member of Abbey’s battery, from Claiborne 
County, Mississippi, with which he served until he was discharged 
on account of broken health. Recuperating in a short time, he 




TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


155 


again enlisted, changing to the Thirty-seventh Mississippi in¬ 
fantry, Company H, Captain F. B. Loper, and was with that 
command in the last day's fight at Nashville, in December, 1864, 
where he was captured and held a prisoner till June 18, 1865. He 
was a sergeant-major of his regiment during the last year of his 
service. After, returning from the army he studied law and was 
admitted to the bar at Quitman, Miss., in 1867. His first practice 
was at Newton Station, Miss., one year; next at New Orleans, the 
better part of two years, after which he located at Winona, Miss., 
and remained there in the practice fifteen years, from 1871 to 
1886. During the last twelve years of his residence there he was 
mayor of the town of Winona. In 1886 he came to Texas and 
located in Llano, where he has since practiced. He was county 
attorney of Llano County two years, and justice of the peace two 
years of precinct No. 1 of that county. Since the days of re¬ 
construction, Avhen he did much valuable work for Democracy in 
the State of Mississippi, Judge Mclnnis, on the stump and other¬ 
wise, has been an active worker for his party. He has never 
sought office for himself, but when his party put forth its candi¬ 
dates he has always done his full duty toward bringing about 
their election. He is nearly always named as a delegate to the 
various conventions, local and State, but has left it principally 
to others to take the lead in naming party candidates. He had an 
opponent in the primaries, but he withdrew before the convention, 
and then Judge Mclnnis was unanimously nominated for his seat 
in the present Legislature. His district has heretofore voted a 
large Populist majority, but in this general election he led his 
Populist opponent 120 votes. 

Judge Mclnnis has been twice married. His first wife was Miss 
Belle Stewart of New Orleans, who died at Winona, Miss., in 
September, 1883. His second wife, who was Mrs. B. A. Winter, 
is still living. Of his eight children, six only are living. They 

are Frank H., of Austin; William E., of -; Misses 

Ella Belle and Carrie Eichmond, at home; Duncan Chalmers, liv¬ 
ing at Paulding, Miss., and Nettie (quite young), the only child 
of his last wife. The dead are Henry Eussell, who died in infancy, 
and Mary Stewart, who died just one month after her marriage 
to Mr. Albert E. Nanwald at Llano. 

Judge Mclnnis is an old school Presbyterian and a member of 
the Masonic fraternity. He is chairman of the Committee on 
Mining and Minerals, and serves on Public Lands and Land Office, 
Penitentiaries, and Internal Improvements. He is conservative, 
and is making a good representative. 



156 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HOX. JOHN L. LITTLE. 
Sak Antonio. 



The Hon. John L. Little (lawyer) of San Antonio is one of 
the two representatives in the Twenty-seventh Legislature from the 
89th legislative district, which is composed of Bexar County alone. 
He was born in Covington Count}^, Alabama, September 6, 1872. 
His grandfather. Forester Little, was a Georgia planter who lived 
in Jefferson County of that State and died there about the year 
1843. His father, James AIcKinney Little, a lawyer in his earlier 
professional life, was a native of Georgia. He removed from that 
State to Covington County, Alabama, and w^as district attorney of 
that county for nine years; later he was superintendent of public 
instruction two years. He entered the Confederate army at the 
l)eginning of the war as a private, but before his capture and 
imprisonment on Ship Island, near the close of the war, he had 
risen to the rank of captain. After the war he returned to his 
home in Alabama and entered the ministry. He preached from 
the pulpit of the Associated Eeformed Presbyterian church the 
remainder of his life. He came to Texas Avith his family in 1876, 
and died at his home in Milano in 1896. His mother, Mrs. 
Martha A. Little, was a member of an old Georgia family. She 
was the daughter of Samuel Pendrey, and a native of that State. 

Mr. Little Avas educated at the Southw^estern UniA^ersity, George¬ 
town, Texas, graduating in 1896. He at once began the study of 
laAV in the office of Major John A. Green of San Antonio, and 
w^as admitted to practice in 1897. He enlisted as first sergeant 
Company I, First Texas regiment, for service in the Spanish- 
American war, and Avas afterwards promoted to the rank of second 
lieutenant. On account of the failing health of ]\Iajor Green, Avith 
whom he was associated in law practice, he Avas compelled to 
resign and return to his home after peace was declared. He is 
now adjutant of the First regiment, T. Y. G., AAuth the rank of 
captain. He is a Democrat and is recognized as an active Avorker 
in both local and State conventions. In the primaries there Avere 
five aspirants for the two nominations to be made for seats in tlie 
TAventy-seventh Legislature, but Mr. Little and his colleague, Mr. 
Callan, were far in the lead of all others. The present almost 
perfect party organization in his county may be credited to the 
work of such Democrats as Mr. Little, and accounts for the defeat 
of the Eepublican ticket in Bexar County at the last election, 
AAffiich had not occurred before for seventeen years. The Demo- 


1 

I 

I 


I 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


15?' 


ciatic ticket won by about 3000 majority, and Mr. Little received 
the second highest vote cast for any State officer. 

^Ir. Little is the author of the resolution offered in the house 
to exempt certain manufacturing industries from taxation for a 
period of ten years; also of another, inviting New York capitalists 
to visit and investigate the resources of Texas. Both of these 
resolutions have been extensively and favorably commented on by 
the press. North and South. 

He was married August 21, 1898, at San Antonio, Texas, to 
Miss Carrie Powers of that city, who is a niece of General Sam 
Plouston. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and belongs 
to the Woodmen of the AVorld, the Maccabees, and the Mystic 
Circle fraternities. He has been assigned to committee work on 
Judicial Districts, Finance, and other committees. 

Mr. Little is one of the rising young men of the Southwest, and 
though he will return to the private practice of law, it may be 
safely predicted that he will not disappear from public view if he 
does not so desire at the end of his two years’ service as a legislator. 


HON. JAMES GEEENWOOD. 

Seguin. 

The 97th legislative district, Guadalupe County, is represented 
in the Twenty-seventh house by the Hon. James Greenwood, lawyer, 
of Seguin. He was born in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, Sep¬ 
tember 21, 1851. He is a member of an old Southern family of 
Greenwoods, a branch of which, two or three generations in the 
past, settled in the State of Mississippi. His grandfather, Thomas 
Greenwood, was one of the pioneer prominent planters of the 
State, who for a long time lived )jear Greensboro and died there 
in the 78th year of his age. His father, T. C. Greenwood, prac¬ 
ticed law in Houston, Miss., before coming to Seguin, Texas, 
when and where he formed a law partnership with Governor Ire¬ 
land, with whom as an associate he practiced many years. Later 
in life he left the practice of law to assume the duties of a higher 
profession—that of the ministry. He was regularly ordained as 
a minister of the gospel, since which time he has occupied the 
Baptist pulpit. His mother, Mrs. Juliet (Crocker) Greenwood, 
was ])orn in Mississippi. Her father also was one of the early 
settlers of that State, emigrating from South Carolina about the 
beginning of the Nineteenth century. Both parents are now 
living at their ])leasant home near the town of Liiling, Texas. 


158 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Mr. Greenwood acquired a fair education in the common schools 
of Texas, which was supplemented by a course of arduous home 
study. He read law in the office of Governor Ireland, at Seguin; 
was admitted to the bar at Lockhart in 1873, and beginning at 
once has since continuously practiced law at Seguin. He was 
county attorney of Guadalupe County three terms, 1876 to 1882, 
and county judge three terms, from 1888 to 1894. 

Excepting the last State convention, he has attended nearly 
every local and State convention held since he became of age. He 
is serving his second term in the house, having been a member 
of the Twenty-sixth Legislature. In both races he was nominated 
without opposition, but was opposed each time in the general elec¬ 
tion by a Eepublican candidate. Though the average Kepublican 
majority in his county is about 600, he won the first race by 1500 
and the last by 250 votes. 

Mr. Greenwood is particularly interested in a revision of the 
libel law, and has advocated the passage of a law defined as ‘"‘Civil 
libel and privileged communications.^"’ He is a Democrat accord¬ 
ing as the principles of the party were enunciated by the fathers 
in the days of old. He hopes the party of to-day will renounce 
some of the modern isms and return to its original doctrines. 

He was married at Seguin, Texas, October 5, 1876, to Miss 
Corenne Henderson. She is the daughter of Alex. H. Henderson 
and Maria (Turley) Henderson, and is the granddaughter, of 
Judge Turley, who was for a n amber of years on the supreme 
bench of Tennessee; and she is the cousin of the Hon. Thomas 
Turley, now in the United States senate from Tennessee. They 
have four living children—James, Jr., Alexander H., T. Bruce, 
and Eugenia Mary, a little daughter, died in infancy. He is a 
member of the Baptist church, is a prominent ]\Iason, an Odd 
Fellow, a Knight of Honor, a Woodmen of the World, and a 
member of the Home Forum. He serves on Judiciary No. 1, and 
other important committees. Mr. Greenwood is an intelligent, 
conscientious, and experienced legislator, and is considered one 
of the strong men of the present Legislature. 

HON. AUSTIN MILTON KENNEDY. 

Mexia. 


“Kennedy of l..imestone.” 

The gentleman whose name heads this article answers roll call 
in the house of the Twenty-seventh Legislature as “Kennedy of 
Limestone.^"* He is the representative from the 60th district. 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


159 


which is composed of Limestone County. He was born about 
thirty-four years ago in Alabama and his parents were James and 
Kachel (Jenkins) Kennedy. Scotch-Irish blood coursed the veins 
of the elder Kennedy, who moved to Limestone County, Texas, in 
1870, where he lived until 1875, when by his death the widowed 
mother was left with four little children, of whom the subject of 
this article was the oldest. Being possessed of little of this 
world^s goods, the mother was not in a position to educate her 
children, so it was that but little more than a year, composed of 
periodic sessions, in the public schools of his county, and the 
whole story of his school life is told, until we find him, at the age 
of 17, doing chores and selling school books to enable him to attend 
a local school for six months. Subsequent education was acquired 
by picking up bits of knowledge as he earned a livelihood. While 
yet a mere boy young Kennedy '^took to writing for the papers,^^ 
and contributed a number of articles to* the local newspapers of 
his county, and at one time began to learn the printer’s trade, but 
was forced to quit because of poor health. In 1885 he took an 
active interest in the cause of temperance and stumped his county 
in its behalf. In 1887, through the assistance of J. L. Smith, a 
banker of Mexia, Texas, the Mexia Democrat was launched upon 
the journalistic sea with Mr. Kennedy as local editor, and within 
six weeks he was sole publisher and proprietor of the paper. Its 
publication was continued with much success until 1892, when it 
was disposed of and merged with another publication. In that 
year Mr. Kennedy bought an interest in the Waco Daily Day, and 
was its active manager until forced from its directory because of 
his well known support of Governor J. S. Hogg, who was opposed 
in that year by Judge George Clark, a citizen of Waco. This 
venture was a financial failure, because a supporter of Governor 
Hogg could not successfully publish a morning paper in the home 
city of his popular opponent. Since that time Mr. Kennedy has 
been connected with several other newspapers, but at present he 
has no active connection with newspaper work. He still, however, 
holds a controlling interest in the Herald Printing Company of 
Mexia, which owns and publishes the Daily Kews and the State 
Herald, the latter a weekly. Of course Mr. Kennedy is a Demo¬ 
crat. He has been a delegate to every State convention since 
1888, and was one of the secretaries of the convention of 1890, and 
was the secretary of the Fort Worth convention in 1896. In 1895 
he was selected as secretary of the State Democratic Bimetallic 
Committee, which organization did much to secure a free silver 
delegation to the Chicago convention of 1896. In 1896-’98 he 
was secretary of the State Democratic Executive Committee. In 


160 


BlOGliArillCAL SKETCHES 


1891 Mr. Kennedy was elected secretary of the State senate by 
practically a nnanimous vote, notwithstanding he was opposed by 
much older gentlemen. He was the youngest man ever elected 
to that position in Texas. He was re-elected to the same office iii 
the senate in 1893. In 1897 he managed the lecture tour for 
Texas of the Hon. W. J. Bryan. The first race for the Legislature 
which Mr. Kennedy made was in 1894, when the nomination over 
an able and brilliant orator of twice his years was won with votes, 
to spare. The following November a Populist wave swept many 
counties, including Limestone, and the Populist nominee won the 
race, having 205 votes more than the Democratic nominee,, 
although Mr. Kennedy ran about 200 votes ahead of the State 
Democratic ticket in that county. In 1896 the nomination for 
representative was not sought by Mr, Kennedy. He preferred the 
chairmanship of the local Democratic executive committee, that 
he might more contribute to the defeat of Populism. He secured 
the chairmanship, and the November election witnessed a triumph¬ 
ant Democratic majority, doubling the vote of Limestone County 
in the State convention. To prevent Mr. Kennedy from receiving 
the nomination, his opponents induced ex-State Senator Steele,, 
who so ably represented the local district in both houses of the 
Legislature for several years to make the race for the Legisla¬ 
ture in 1898. Against the advice of his friends Mr. Kennedy 
entered the contest only six weeks before the primaries, and 
not only defeated his popular opponent, Senator Steele, but had a 
clear majority of over 600 above both of his two opponents, another 
candidate having entered the contest. The fall elections gave him 
1060 votes more than his former Populist opponent, Mr. M. A. 
Drinkard. In the Twenty-sixth Legislature Mr. Kennedy was 
active in opposition to the tax bill proposed by the tax commission. 
This opposition developed an opponent in the primaries in the 
person of Hon. J. W. Alston, who was a member of the Twenty- 
third Legislature. Mr. Kennedy's majority in the primaries was 
about 900; Mr. Drinkard again opposed him, but the majority of 
2700 given Kennedy out of 4300 votes was sufficient to secure his 
.credentials. In the Twenty-sixth Legislature he served on the 
following committees: Internal Improvements, Constitutional 
Amendments, Public Printing, and Contingent Expenses. In the 
Twenty-seventh he is serving on the same committees, and in 
addition thereto. Commerce and Manufactures, and Eevenue and 
Taxation. He is chairman of Committee on Contingent Expenses. 

iMr. Kennedy was married December 2, 1899, to Miss Cordelia 
Murphy, daughter of Hon. G. W. Murphy, the present attorney- 
general of Arkansas. 




TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


161 


HON. SAMUEL H. GOODLETT. 

Brenfiam. ‘ 

Washington County alone composes the 47th legislative district, 
and is represented in the Twenty-seventh Legislature by the Hon. 
Samuel H. Goodlett (lawyer) of Brenham. He is the son of Wil¬ 
son Goodlett, a native of South Carolina, who came to Gay Hill, 
Washington County, Texas, in 1853, where he died in 1854, and 
where the subject of this sketch was born November 19, 1853. His 
mother, Mrs. Lenora Ann (Prince) Goodlett, was also a native 
of South Carolina. She died at Gay Hill, Texas, in 1878. 

Mr. Goodlett was educated at the Baylor University, taking the 
B. P. degree in 1877. After leaving college he was admitted to 
the bar at Brenham, Texas, in 1882. He, however, did not begin 
regular practice at once, being interested in other pursuits until 
1891, when he opened an office at Brenham for steady professional 
work. He has since remained there, and now has a large and 
lucrative practice. He is a Democrat, and has attended nearly all 
the State conventions of his party since he became of age. Mr. 
Goodlett belongs to a section of the State where, in the past, such 
work has often been necessary, and he has frequently stumped his 
county and district in the interest of Democracy. He was a 
member of the Twenty-sixth Legislature, representing then the 
48th flotorial district, composed of Washington, Lee, and Burleson 
counties. In his race for that seat he received the nomination 
over strong opposition, but had no formidable opponent in the 
general election. In his race for this house he was again opposed 
in the primaries by aspirants for nomination, but there was noi 
party candidate against him in the general election. Since Democ-^ 
racy has gained ascendancy, the conditions in his district are such 
that nomination is equivalent to assured election. 

Mr. Goodlett is unmarried. He is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias and Ancient Order of United Workmen fraternities. He 
is chairman of Committee on Private Land Claims, and serves on 
other committees. 

Distinguished from those who are serving their first terms as 
legislators, Mr. Goodlett may be classed with the “old members.’^ 
His bearing commands the respect of his fellow representatives, as 
his efficient work gains for him the commendation of his con^ 
stituency. 


11—Gov’t. 


162 


BIOGllAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON. 0. w. Mcknight. 

Wharton. 

The Hon. G. W. McKnight of Wharton represents in the house 
of the Twenty-seventh Legislature the 46th district, which is 
composed of the counties of Wharton,' Gonzales, Colorado, and 
Lavaca. He is of Scotch lineage. His parents were M. McKnight 
and Mrs. Martha (Lewis) McKnight, who were old residents of 
Gonzales County, living at the town of Gonzales. 

Mr. McEmight was born at Gonzales, Texas, June 26, 1865. In 
early childhood he had the misfortune to lose both his parents, and 
at a very tender age was left to nnd his way to manhood alone. 
With meager facilities he obtained the best education afforded by 
the common public and private schools of the State, in which he 
prepared himself to enter the field of journalistic work. He has 
since, at different places and with various publications, pursued 
the line of his chosen profession. He is at present editor and 
publisher of the Weekly Eagle, a Democratic newspaper located 
at Wharton, Texas. During his tw^enty years’ life as a newspaper 
man Mr. McKnight has been brought in contact and familiar asso¬ 
ciation with the greater number of our prominent public men. He 
has been very active all this time in politics, working in the 
various county, district, and State conventions, and doing much 
through the press and on the stump for his party. 

In his race for the Legislature he was nominated in the district 
convention by acclamation, having no opponent, but in the gen¬ 
eral election the Eepublicans, working under a splendidly organ¬ 
ized campaign, put out a candidate, whom he defeated by a very 
large majority vote. 

Mr. McKnight has been interested in matters of legislation 
pertaining to coast and internal improvements, and in this con¬ 
nection introduced a ^Mrainage bill” which, against strong opposi¬ 
tion, he secured the passage of in both the house and senate, but 
which the Governor vetoed. 

He was married at Aransas Pass, Texas, December 20, 1893, to 
Miss L. A. Boyett of that city. They have three children. He 
belongs to the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, and the 
Woodmen of the World fraternities. 

He serves on standing committees as follows: Public Printing, 
Public Buildings and Grounds, Poads, Bridges and Ferries, and 
Enrolled Bills. 

Mr. McKnight, though serving his first term as representative. 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


163 


by reason of his professional duties has became familiar with 
public affairs generally, and especially with the order and routine 
of legislative work. He has therefore naturally the bearing of an 
old member, and by a faithful performance of all duties devolving 
on him as their representative, he is serving his people well. 


HON. GEORGE B. GRIGGS. 

Houston. 

The Hon. George B. Griggs of Houston is a native of the State 
of Georgia, and was born May 19, 1863. He is one of the two 
members of the house in the Twenty-seventh Legislature from 
Harris County, which composes the 37th district. His parents, 
Adam arid Mrs. Nancy (Forsythe) Griggs, were representatives 
respectively of two old American families. On the maternal side 
his grandfather, Thomas Forsythe, for many years a prominent 
minister of the gospel, was of Scotch-Irish parentage. He came 
to America in 1800, settling in Ohio, and dying in that State at 
an advanced age in 1873. His father is of German family origin, 
but is immediately descended from the American Griggs family of 
Virginia, the members of which have spread out over that and 
adjoining States, and many of whom became noted as public men. 
The Attorney-General of the United States, John Griggs, is a 
descendant of the Virginia family of that name, and another rela¬ 
tive is the Hon. James M. Griggs, member of the United States 
Congress from Georgia. 

Mr. Griggs was educated at the University of Ohio, taking the 
M. S. degree, and later graduated from the Cincinnati Law School 
as a Bachelor of Law. He came to the State and was admitted 
to practice in the Texas courts, at the bar of Houston, in 1890, 
where he has since gained prominence as a successful lawyer. 

Mr. Griggs was nominated in the primaries over three fellow- 
Democratic aspirants, one of whom was Judge Norman Kittrell, 
at that time a member of the Twenty-sixth house. He had no 
opposition in the general election. 

In National affairs Mr. Griggs favors a conservative policy 
touching the question of finance. He would encourage trade rela¬ 
tions with our southern neighbors by the establishing of a Pan- 
American Trades College. In State matters he advocates such 
legislation as will bring about the most economical development 
of our industrial and commercial interests, inclusive of carrying 
and shipping, and does not believe it good policy to enact laws 
too restrictively stringent, as they may relate to outside capital. 


]64 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Mr. Griggs was married June 20, 1886, to Miss Eva Park, 
daughter of Colonel N. R. Park of Ohio. She lived hut a few 
years, surviving their little daughter Constance, who died in 1889, 
only one year. Since this double bereavement Mr. Griggs has 
lived alone, remaining unmarried, cherishing the memory of his 
beloved dead. 

In the matter of legislative committee work, he has been assigned 
as follows: Chairman of Special Committee on Pan-American 
Matters; serves on standing committees: Constitutional Amend¬ 
ments, Puldic Health and Vital Statistics, State Affairs, and 
Agricultural Affairs. He possesses the native elements of success,, 
and if he continues in public life, political prominence is within 
his attaining reach. 


HON. MAX MEITZEX. 
Fayetteville. 


More than half a century has elapsed, and nearly two generations- 
of native-born Americans have came on the stage of life and 
passed away since the Hon. Max Meitzen left his native home in 
Germany and, with his parents, William and Antonia (Meyer) 
Meitzen, came to America. This was in 1849, when Max, their 
son, who was born January 23, 1845, was onlv about four years 
old. 

To feel no inherent lingering love for the country of his ances¬ 
tral home would bespeak a deficiency of patriotic capability render¬ 
ing him unable to love and serve truly the land of his adoption. 
A"et to him there is but one home-land, and that is America, and 
the brightest spot of all its broad and fair expanse is the old county 
of Fayette, in tlie State of Texas, where his parents settled fifty- 
two years ago, and where he has lived since and raised a large 
family of native-born American children. 

Mr. Meitzen is one of the repre.sentatives in the Twenty-seventh 
Legislature from Fayette County, which composes the 45th dis¬ 
trict and is entitled to two members in the house. He received 
a fair but limited education in the common schools of the time of 
his youth. After leaving school he worked on his father’s farm 
till the time of his marriage, in 1868. He then engaged in mer¬ 
cantile business at Fayetteville for five years. Having been 
elected constable of his ])recinct, he closed out his business and 
served in that ca])acity four years. At this time he began farming, 





TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


1G5 


and was elected justice of the peace, an office he held and filled for 
a period of sixteen years. In 1890 he was admitted to the bar at 
La Grange and has since practiced with success the profession, 
having his law office at Fayetteville. During this time his farm¬ 
ing interest has grown extensive, and throughout all his business 
and professional career this has been considered by him a chief 
pursuit. As a Democrat he has taken an interest in all local con¬ 
ventions pertaining to the work of the party and has participated 
in the proceedings of several State conventions. He was nomi¬ 
nated for the Tw^enty-seventh house without opposition, but in 
the general election he defeated a Populist opponent by receiving 
4400 out of 6000 votes cast in his district. As a Confederate 
soldier he entered the service a member of Wellhausen's light 
artillery, attached to Duff's regiment, but was transferred later 
to Griffin^s regiment of infantry. 

He was married to Miss Elizabeth Huntschel, June 7, 1868. 
They have raised a family of twelve children, of whom two daugh¬ 
ters and one son are married; the others are still at home with 
their parents. He is a member of the Lutheran Presbyterian 
church, and is a Knight of Honor. He has been assigned work 
on committees as follows: Private Land Claims, Contingent Ex¬ 
penses, Mining and Minerals, Irrigation, and Labor. 

Mr. Meitzen makes a good representative, and is-a splendid 
type of the German-American gentleman and citizen. 


HOK. SEABORX J. HEXDRKdxS. 


Hendeesox. 


The Hon. Seaborn J. Hendricks, member from the 26th district, 
representative from Rusk County in the house of the Twenty- 
seventh Texas - Legislature, enjoys the distinction of being the 
second oldest native-born Texan in the whole general assembly. 
He was born in Rusk County, Texas, March 10, 1848. His father 
was Seaborn J. Hendricks, Sr., who was a resident citizen of 
Macon, Ga., at the time of his marriage to Miss Fannie E. Smith 
of Milledgeville, Ga. He moved with his family from Georgia to 
Alabama in 1843, and in January, 1848, they came from Alabama 
to Texas, settling near Harmony Hill, in Rusk County, where 
they lived till their respective deaths, that of the mother occurring 
in 1871, the father dying in 1882. Mr. Hendricks was reared on a 
farm in Rusk County, and in the common schools of that section 
acquired a practical education. Early after reaching Ids majority. 


166 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


October 5^ 1871, lie was married to Miss Ellen A. Hall, daughter of 
Dowling Hall of Henderson, Texas. Having been raised on a 
farm, he adopted that avocation as a principal life pursuit, in 
connection with which for many years he has engaged extensively 
in gin and mill operations at Harmony Hill. He gave to all his 
varied business affairs his personal attention till 1890, when he 
was elected county judge of Kusk County, which office he filled for 
four consecutive terms. With the broadest conception of the 
duties incumbent upon a good citizen, he has observed closely every 
political point that presented itself for consideration, and has 
always taken an active interest in all matters pertaining to local 
or State government. As a county, district or State delegate he 
has failed to attend but two of all the conventions held in the last 
twenty years. He was a member of the State Democratic Execu¬ 
tive Committee, 1894-1896, and was chairman of the Committee 
on Permanent Organization and Order of Business at the last 
State convention (1900), held at Waco. In his race for the Legis¬ 
lature he was successful in the primaries over his Democratic com¬ 
petitor by 900 votes, and defeated his political opponent in the 
general election by a majority of 1650 votes. Though entering the 
profession later in life than is usual, he is recognized as a lawyer 
of ability, and as a member of the house is regarded as being able 
and conservative. He is chairman of the Committee on County 
Government and County Finances, and is a member of other stand¬ 
ing committees as follows: Internal Improvement, Revenue and 
Taxation, Education, Roads, Bridges and Ferries, and Peniten¬ 
tiaries. He was chairman of the committee appointed to investi¬ 
gate and report upon the management of the Confederate Home; 
and when that most important of all investigating committees ever 
sent out from a Texas Legislature was organized, viz., the com¬ 
mittee created by legislative resolution to inquire into the conduct 
of the Hon. J. W. Bailey and certain State officers relative to the 
operations of the Waters-Pierce Oil Company in Texas, he was 
selected as its chairman. The ability displayed by him as its 
presiding officer and the impartiality and thoroughness attending 
the proceedings under his official direction, gained for him a 
State-wide and almost National reputation. 

Mr. Hendricks has one living child, Carrie E., who is the wife 
of Mr. Tom Norvell of Henderson, Texas. He had one other 
daughter, Fannie E., who died in early childhood. He is a con¬ 
sistent member of the Presbyterian church, is a Mason, an Odd 
Fellow, Knight of Pythias, and Knight of Honor. In his home 
he is esteemed as a useful citizen and is noted for his hospitality, 
kindness, and charitable practices. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


167 


HON. HORACE S. MORAN. 

Weatherford 

The Hon. Horace S. Moran represents Parker County, the 79th 
district, in the house of the Twenty-seventh Legislature. Several 
generations of his antecedents were born and reared in the ‘^Old 
Dominion."" His grandfather, John Moran, left that State with 
his family, except the son, John A. Moran, a boy of 9 years, father 
of the Hon. H. S. Moran, about the year 1820, to go to Tennessee 
or Kentucky to establish a new home. This region was then new 
and beyond the mountains, and the subsequent history of the 
family has not been traced. His father John A. Moran, thus left 
at the age of 9 to be cared for by relatives, was taken from his 
native county of Campbell to Monroe County, where he grew to 
manhood and married Miss Delilah Jaquith, the mother of the 
subject of this notice. She was born in New York, her father, 
Mr. Jaquith, being a native of that State, and a teacher by profes¬ 
sion, who removed to Virginia in the early part of the Nineteenth 
century. 

Mr. Moran was born in Monroe County, Virginia, August 11, 
1851, and after acquiring his education came to Texas in 1873, 
stopping at Weatherford, in Parker County. Here, the next year, 
he was admitted to the bar, and without changing place of resi¬ 
dence or field of practice, he has since lived at Weatherford and 
followed his professional pursuit. 

Mr. Moran is a Democrat who, as to political maneuvering, is 
usually quiet; but when the hour of strife comes he is always in 
the ranks to wage war against the opponents of his party. He 
has attended many county, district, and State conventions; notably 
that which, after a long deadlock, nominated the late Hon. 0. M. 
Roberts for Governor, and that other famous convention out of 
which grew the Hogg-Ciark campaign. In that campaign Mr. 
Moran was needed, and he gave his work with might and main to 
the triumphant wing of the Democratic division. 

In the course of his way to a seat in the present Legislature he 
was opposed in the primaries by two competitors for nomination, 
leading both by a large vote, and in the general election he de¬ 
feated two opponents, the one a Populist and the other a Republi¬ 
can, by a majority over both of about 1000 votes. Mr. Moran is 
not in favor of much new legislation. He believes the existing 
laws place Texas in line with the best governed States in the 
Union, and that ^Vell enough"" should go undisturbed. He serves 


168 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


on committees: Judiciary Xo. 2, Constitutional Amendments, 
Commerce and Manufactures, Lands and Land Office, and State 
Asylums. 

He was married ISTovember 21, 1877, to Miss Annie E. Eider, 
daughter of the late William Rider of Parker County, a promi¬ 
nent stockman and early settler of West Texas. They have one 
child, Ruth, aged 9 years. Mr. Moran is a member of the M. E. 
Church South and is a Knight of Pythias. As a legislator he is 
neither formal nor reserved, but dignified and always watchful. 


HON. JOHN S. CONWAAC 


Gonzales. 


Gonzales County, comprising the 84th legislative district, is rep¬ 
resented in the Twenty-seventh Legislature b}^ the Hon. John S. 
Conway. Judge Conway is a native of Scotland, born in the city 
of Edinburgh, September 5, 1841. When he was quite young his 
father, James Conway, died at his home in Edinburgh. After his 
fathers death he accompanied his mother and her parents, Simon 
Eraser and his wife, who came to America and settled in Gonzales 
County, Texas, in January, 1850. Through Mrs. Fraser, his grand¬ 
mother, Judge Conway is descended from the old Scottish family 
of Farquarsons, which was her maiden or family name. Of those 
who came over with him from their native land none now survive 
but Mrs. Isabella P. Lovett, nee Fraser, and himself. His mother 
died in 1889, and was buried at Gonzales. 

Judge Conway, first in the common schools and later at the 
Gonzales College, was in the way of acquiring a good education 
when his course was interrupted by his response to a call asking 
the chivalric young men of the South to take up arms in her 
defense. This was in September, 1861, and he with others 
hastened to obey the summons. He enlisted as a private in Com¬ 
pany C, Sixth regiment Texas volunteer infantiy, and with it par- 
ticipat(Tl in many battles of the Civil war. At Arkansas Post, in 
1863, he was captured with his entire brigade and taken to Camp 
Butler, near Springfield, Ill. Under the then existing cartel his 
brigade was exchanged at City Point, Va., in April, 1863. His 
regiment and brigade soon after was attached to Bragg’s army in 
Tennessee. He participated in all the battles in which his regi¬ 
ment was engaged until in the battle at Franklin, Tenn., November 
30, 1864, which is historically recorded as being one of the severest 
and most hotly contested engagements of the war, when he was 




TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


169 


again captured. This was in the famous charge at Carter's Gin, 
in which he was taken prisoner on the line of Federal works. He 
remained a prisoner in Camp Douglas, at Chicago, Ill., till 1865, 
when he was released and permitted to return to his home. He 
taught school the better part of two years, and then read law 
in the office of Major T. M. Harwood. He was admitted to the 
bar at Gonzales in April, 1869. In the fall of the same )^ear he 
became a partner in practice wdth Major Harwood, forming the 
firm of Harw'ood & Conway, wdiich partnership w^as dissolved a 
short time before his election to the office of county judge of 
Gonzales County in 1876. To this office he w^as elected for five 
consecutive terms, after wdiich he resumed the practice of law. In 
1890 he w-as nominated by the Democratic party and elected to 
the same office, and again served in that official capacity for three 
terms, making in all eight terms, covering a period of sixteen and 
one-half years on the bench. In 1896 he declined nomination to 
the office and again engaged in the practice of law. 

He did not seek nomination as a candidate for his seat in the 
house, but nevertheless when nominated by the Democratic party 
lie accepted the nomination and in the race defeated his Populist 
opponent, an ex-member of the Tw^enty-sixth Legislature, by 1449 
votes. 

He w^as married May 14, 1890, to Miss Jennie E. Trotter of 
Gonzales. They have lost tw^o children, but have two living— 
John S., Jr., and Vernon C. He serves on the following commit¬ 
tees: Judiciary No. 1, Judicial Districts, Asylums, Constitutional 
Amendments, and Eoads, Bridges and Ferries. 

Judge Conw^ay is a member of the Masonic fraternity and holds- 
.a life certificate from the order. With his knowledge of law and 
long experience on the bench in a legislative capacity, he will 
doubtless serve his Stafe w-ell and his immediate constituency 
satisfactorily. 


HON. EMMETT L. PERRY. 

Velasco. 

The Hon. Emmett L. Perry of the Twenty-seventh Legislature, 
representing Brazoria and Matagorda counties, which compose the 
40th district, is the grandson of James F. Perry, wffio came from 
Missouri to Brazoria County, Texas, in 1832, when Texas was 
under the dominion of Mexico. His wife, the grandmother of the 
subject of this notice, was the sister of Stephen F. Austin, and at 


170 


BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES 


his death was the only surviving member of his father’s immediate 
family. James F. Perry was one of the first to engage extensively 
in the cultivation of sugar cane in Texas^ and opened up and put 
into operation the noted Peach Point sugar plantation in Brazoria 
County. In 1854, while on a business trip to Boloxi, Miss., he 
was stricken with yellow fever. He did not recover, and as his 
remains could not be removed, he was buried at the place where 
he died. His father, Stephen S. Perry, lived a long life, prin¬ 
cipally in Brazoria County, and died there in 1874. He was a 
large sugar planter, and owned a considerable acreage of Texas 
lands, including the above mentioned plantation. His mother, 
Mrs. Sarah M. Perry, was the daughter of the late James M. 
Brown of Dayton, Ohio. She died on Peach Point plantation in 
1888, and is buried there. 

Mr. Perry was educated at Baylor University, and after leaving 
that institution in 1884 he went to Poughkeepsie, N. Y., entered 
the Eastman College, and finished a com^Dlete business course. 
Since that time, with the principal office at Velasco, he has been 
engaged in real estate dealing and land loan business, in which 
he has been financially successful. 

In Mr. Perry’s district, and in fact over the State, he is known 
as a sterling Democrat and an active campaign worker. He has 
the reputation of being an influential delegate in the many con¬ 
ventions, county, district, and State, where his presence has been 
conspicuously noted. He is now a member of the Trans-Missis¬ 
sippi Congress, which met this year on July 17th at Cripple 
Creek, Colo. 

He was victorious over his fellow Democratic opponent in the 
primaries for nomination to the Legislature by 1800 votes, and 
defeated a Eepublican candidate for the seat by an overwhelming 
majority. Eepresenting a ‘^^storm-stricken” district, his attention 
has been largely directed toward such legislation as would tend to 
relieve the unfortunate of that section; but he is interested in all 
matters that will advance and give impetus to the material and 
commercial life of Texas. He serves on committees: Internal 
Improvements, Counties and County Boundaries, Public Lands and 
Land Office, and Irrigation. 

He is a member of the Presbyterian church and is unmarried. 
He may always be found at the post of duty, working zealously for 
what he conceives to be right. 


i 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


171 


HON. EDWARD BROWN PICKETT. 

Liberty. 

The Hon. Edward B. Pickett, the second youngest member of 
the house in the Twenty-seventh Legislature, is the son of E. B. 
Pickett and Mrs. Mollie (Nolen) Pickett, and was born at Liberty, 
Texas, April 19, 1877. He represents the 36th district, which is 
composed of the counties of Chambers, Hardin, Liberty, Jefferson, 
Orange, and Tyler, and wRich is known to embrace a constituency 
among the oldest and most intelligent in the State. He is de¬ 
scended from Irish and English ancestry, though his parents are 
American born, and both natives of Texas. His grandfather, E. 
B. Pickett, Sr., was president of the State Constitutional Con¬ 
vention of 1876. His grandfather,-Nolen, was a prominent 

lawyer of Richmond, Texas, where he lived and died. His father 
has been for a number of years district and county clerk of Lib¬ 
erty County, where Mr. Pickett served as a deputy during an 
interval between his earlier school days and the time of his col¬ 
legiate course. He graduated from the University of Texas in 
1899, since which time he has been engaged in the practice of law 
in his native town of Liberty. Though very young, he has 
already gained considerable reputation as a lawyer, having con¬ 
ducted several large and important land suits to a successful 
termination. 

He is active in both local and State affairs, and commands the 
personal and political esteem of an extensive home and State ac¬ 
quaintance. He was elected to the house after receiving the 
Democratic nomination over four opponents, all of whom were 
•well and favorably known as good citizens, and as aspirants, quali¬ 
fied for the place. Since reaching his majority he has participated 
in all of his county and district Democratic conventions, and in 
1896 was a delegate to the State convention. He is unmarried. 
He is regarded by his legislative colleagues as a representative of 
ability. The political advancement he has made so early in life 
foreshadows in bright promise his future high attainment. 

Mr. Pickett serves on following committees: Constitutional 
Amendments, Enrolled BilJs, Mining and Minerals, and others. 



172 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON. JONATHAN Y. HOOSETT. 

Fort Worth. 

The Hon. Jonathan Y. Hogsett was born in Anderson County, 
Tennessee, July 22, 1843. He is one of the two representatives 
in the Twenty-seventh Legislature from- Tarrant County, the 78th 
district. His grandfather, William Hogsett, was born in the 
State of Virginia in 1775, and emigrated to Anderson County, 
Tennessee, in 1799, where he died in 1828. He was the first 
lawyer ip that county. He is the son of Alexander Hogsett, a Ten¬ 
nessee farmer, who lived in Anderson County of that State and 
died there in 1869. His mother, Mrs. Harriet C. Hogsett, was 
the daughter of Jonathan Douglas, a lawyer and farmer who lived 
in Moore County, Tennessee, but who died in Missouri, while there 
on a business trip in the early forties. His mother died in Fort 
Worth, Texas, in 1893. 

Mr. Hogsett was educated at Union Academy, Anderson County, 
Tennessee. After leaving school and before reaching his majority 
he came to Weatherford, Parker County, Texas, and was living 
there at the breaking out of the Civil war. He enlisted in the 
Confederate service as a member of Company K, Fifth Texas 
mounted volunteers, which was attached to Sibley’s brigade, after¬ 
wards famously known as ^'The Tom Green Brigade.” He served 
in the Trans-Mississippi department, and was in nearly every 
important engagement in Louisiana, including those of the Louisi¬ 
ana campaign in 1863 and 1864. On the 21st day of February 
of this year the writer of this sketch was present when Mr. Hogsett 
was relating a war reminiscence. He said that it was the anniver¬ 
sary of that famously hot little meeting between Federals and 
Confederates, which occurred at Val Verde, New Mexico, February 
21, 1862, or just thirty-nine years ago, in which he and Governor 
Sayers, then young men in the prime of early manhood, were both 
acting as participants. After the war he remained in Texas one 
year, and then returned to Clinton, Tenn., studied law and was 
admitted to the bar in 1869. He was married the same year to 
Miss Anna Long of Eoane County, Tennessee, and three years later 
(1872) together they came to Texas. Mr. Hogsett located at Fort 
AVorth and practiced law there until three years ago, when he re¬ 
tired from public professional work to give attention to his private 
business affairs. He is not a politician, though he has often 
rendered efficient service to his party. He is known in the Twenty- 
seventh Legislature, and elsewdiere, as a stanch platform Democrat. 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


173 


He made the opening speech on the question of passing the pro¬ 
posed “Hogg amendments'' to the Constitution, and there, as in 
the committee deliberations, his logical presentation of points sup¬ 
porting his advocacy of the measure shows him to be one of the 
strongest men in the house. Mr. Hogsett is a man of independent 
fortune, and like many others, is serving his constituency and the 
State at large at pecuniary sacrifice, and therefore from purely 
patriotic motives. 

Mr. Hogsett is a member of the Masonic fraternity and is a 
gentleman of high worth. The family chain is unbroken; his 
family of seven children are all living. As a member of com¬ 
mittees he has been assigned to Judiciary No. 1, Constitutional 
Amendments, Eailroad Commission, and Towns and City Corpora¬ 
tions. His work and his position on the Committee on Constitu¬ 
tional Amendments have given him prominence throughout the 
State. 


HON. NESTOE MORROW. 

Kx^UFMAN. 

The Hon. Nestor Morrow, member of the house in the Twenty- 
seventh Legislature, representing the 16th district, composed of 
Kaufman County, is another senior native-born Texan, retaining 
place with those of the younger school into whose hands time is 
fast giving the reins of governmental guidance. He was born 
in the county he now represents, September 11, 1850. His father, 
A. M. Morrow, was a physician, and a Tennesseean by birth, but 
went from that State to Missouri, where he married, and whence he 
came to Texas, locating at Austin as early as 1839. Later, how¬ 
ever, he removed to that section of the State now known as Kauf¬ 
man County, where he lived and practiced his profession till his 
death, in 1859. His mother was Miss Mary Bullock, who, as a 
widow, survived his father for a number of years, dying at her old 
home in Kaufman County in 1894. Mr. Morrow was educated at 
Trinity L^niversity, Tehuacana, Texas, taking the A. B. degree. 
He graduated with honor, and upon that college occasion was 
selected to deliver the valedictory address. After leaving college 
he pursued the study of law, was admitted to the bar in 1877 at 
Kaufman, where he has since practiced, attaining to professional 
eminence. He was county attorney of Kaufman County two 
terms, 1881 to 1884, and was one of the directors of the North 
Texas Insane Asylum at Terrell for two years, 1891 and 1892. He 


174 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


was elected county judge of his county and served two terms, 1892 
to 1896. 

Mr. Morrow was a member of the Twenty-sixth Legislature, and 
is therefore serving a second term as the representative of his dis¬ 
trict. He was elected to this house virtually without opposition, 
as he received a unanimous Democratic nomination, which in his 
county is equivalent to assured election. He favors a revision of 
the tax laws, and advocates an income tax as a means of revenue to 
the State, and as a counteracting agency, preventing the accumula¬ 
tion of vast fortunes. 

Mr. Morrow is a member of the Methodist church. He was 
married in 1879 to Miss Fannie Hindman of Kaufman. Six 
children have been born to them; four—Ethel, Hugh, Jewel, and 
Hamlet—are living; the other two—Katie and Lena—died in early 
childhood. 

He will return to his home after his labors in the Twenty- 
seventh Legislature, as he did from the Twenty-sixth, taking with 
him the esteem of his colleagues, and meriting the approval of his 
constituents, as it may be tendered in recognition of faithful ser¬ 
vice performed. 


HOK. LEA BEATY. 

Lockhart. 

The 51st district, composed of Caldwell County, was represented 
in the Twenty-sixth Legislature by the Hon. Lea Beaty of Lock¬ 
hart, Avho, as his own successor, is now a member of the Twenty- 
seventh house. He was born in Y'ayne County, Kentucky, April 
24, 1847. His grandfather, the Hon. John M. Beaty, was a noted 
public man of Kentucky, serving as a legislator in the State senate 
and afterwards representing his district in the Congress of the 
United States for several terms. Eetiring from public life he 
came to Texas in 1850, selecting Gonzales County as a section of 
the State in which to locate, and preceding his son William, the 
father of the subject of this sketch, two years. The mother of Mr. 
Beaty, prior to her marriage, was Miss Susan Dick, a daughter of 
Captain Dick, who, in the early days of Kentucky was one of the 
very large slaveowners and wealthy planters of that State. 

Mr. Beaty grew to manhood ;iji Gonzales County, and there, 
under competent instructors, received a substantially good educa¬ 
tion. As did his father and grandfather, he belongs to the farmer 
class of Texas citizens. Thougli engaged frequently in other 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


175 


lines of business, he has made this his chief pursuit. His mode of 
farming has been upon the diversified order, and after many 
years^ trial his success may be taken as a practical test and proof 
of the fact that this method is the best. In his younger days 
Mr. Beaty was for awhile deputy sheriff of Gonzales County, but 
with this exception he held no public office till after his removal 
from Gonzales to Caldwell County in 1876. In the latter named 
county he was county commissioner one term, and was tax assessor 
three terms before his election to the Twenty-sixth Legislature. 

Mr. Beaty was a Confederate soldier, serving in the Trans- 
Mississippi department. He entered the service as a member of 
Slayton’s (Gonzales) company, Bagsdale’s cavalry battalion, but 
this command was later dismounted and attached to Gould’s regi¬ 
ment of infantry. Walker’s division. He served to the close of 
the war and was mustered out of service with Walker’s command 
at Hempstead, Texas. 

In the matter of legislation, Mr. Beaty is in favor of a revision 
of the tax laws, better equalizing the burden of taxation; he 
advocates the sale of school lands to actual settlers only, and he 
would like to see improved asylum accommodations and better 
provision made generally for the State’s helpless unfortunates. 
Eelating to a tax measure, Mr. Beaty was very prominent in the 
special session of the Twenty-sixth Legislature as a supporter of 
the form of law submitted by the tax commission, and favored its 
adoption substantially as a whole with only slight modifications. 

He was married in Gonzales County, February 15, 1870, to Miss 
Mary Kidd. They have four daughters and three sons. He is a 
Protestant Christian in belief. He is a Knight of Pythias, a 
Woodman of the World, and A Friend in Keed. Mr. Beaty serves 
on committees: Eevenue and Taxation, Public Lands and Land 
Office, Eoads, Bridges and Ferries, Asylums, and Claims and Ac¬ 
counts. He is an earnest, conservative, and able legislator. 


HOK. WILLIAM PIEESOK. 

Greenville. 

In the Twenty-seventh Legislature, the 15th district, composed 
of Hunt County, has an able representative in the Hon. William 
Pierson of Greenville. He was born at Gilmer, Upshur County, 
Texas, March 12, 1871. He is the son of M. S. Pierson, for many 
years a prominent merchant of Emory, Texas, but now a banker 
and resident of Haskell. His mother, Mrs. Roxie (Ryan) Pierson, 


176 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


died at Emory, May 31, 1881. Mr. Pierson was graduated from 
Baylor University, Waco, in 1896, taking the degrees B. L. and 
B. 0. He then entered the University of Texas and graduated 
from that institution in 1898 with the degree of LL. B. Mr. Pier¬ 
son taught school in McLennan County in 1894 and in Hopkins 
County in 1896. In September, 1898, he located at Greenville, 
Texas, and began the practice of law. He has since associated 
himself with Mr. Montrose, and, under the firm name of Montrose- 
& Pierson, they are together doing a good practice. 

He attended both the 1898 and 1900 State Democratic conven¬ 
tions; the first as a delegate from Haskell, the last as a member 
of the Hunt County delegation. He had been a citizen of Hunt 
County only eighteen months when requested to become a candi¬ 
date for the Legislature. He announced only five weeks before the 
primaries, but was nominated over three strong opponents, leading 
the next highest to himself 450 votes. In the general election he 
defeated his Populist opponent by the usual large Democratic 
majority given by Hunt County. 

Mr. Pierson is unmarried. Ho is a member of the Baptist 
church, a Knight of Pythias, and belongs to the Masonic fraternity. 
He was superintendent of the Sunday-school of the First Baptist 
church of Greenville until he resigned to perform his legislative 
duties. He is now president of the Baptist Young People’s Union 
x4ssociation of Hunt County. 

He has been assigned to committees: Judiciary No. 1, Eailroad 
Commission, Judicial Districts, and Towns and City Corporations. 

i\fr. Pierson is an able young representative and promises to be 
of future great use to his State. 

Note.— After the above sketch was written the Hon. Mr. 
Pierson, on July 9, 1901, was married to Miss Lena Haskell of 
Devers, Liberty County, Texas. She is the highly accomplished 
daughter of the Hon. 0. S. Haskell of that place and was gradu¬ 
ated from the L^niversity of Texas, class ’01, taking the B. S.. 
degree. 


HON. GEOPGE B. TERRELL. 
Alto 


^^Terrell of Cherokee” is the Hon. George B. Terrell, who repre¬ 
sents in the Twenty-seventh Legislature the 28th district, composed 
of Cherokee County. ''Terrell of McLennan,” another representa- 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


177 


tive in the present house, is his brother. Mr. Terrell represents 
the county of his nativity; he was born at Alto, December 5, 1862. 
His grandfather. General George W. Terrell, was a Tennesseean 
who came to Texas about the year 1839. He was quite prominent 
as a State official of the young Eepublic of Texas. During the 
administration of President Houston he was Attorney-General, 
and was later the accredited minister to England. His father, 
Sam Houston Terrell, was a lawyer and farmer. He was county 
treasurer of Brazos County from 1871 to 1873. He died at Alto, 
Texas, January 10, 1874. His mother, Mrs. Julia Terrell, is the 
daughter of Dr. P. H. Butler, another Tennesseean, who came to 
Texas and died in Cherokee County in 1864. His mother is still 
living at her old home near Alto. 

Mr. Terrell was educated at Baylor University and the Sam 
Houston Normal College. He attended the latter institution to 
gain acquaintance with the best methods of teaching. Since leav¬ 
ing school in 1888 he has taught continuously in the schools of 
Cherokee County, and is also interested in farming. 

He has been elected as delegate to all State conventions for the 
last ten years, and when Populism was rife in his county and dis¬ 
trict he canvassed both in the interest of Democracy. He is a 
Democrat of the old school, and believes in the strictest economy 
in the management of our governments, both State and National. 
He favors ^Tree trade*^ with all nations, the prompt payment of 
all debts when they become due, and the upholding of the National 
credit at all times. He favors an income tax, and an ad valorem, 
tax to support the general government, and is opposed to the ac¬ 
quisition of foreign territory. In the State government he favors 
a new Constitution under which all State and county officers shall 
be elected for four years and judicial officers for a longer term, m 
order that business may have precedence over politics. He favors, 
a new and just system of taxation, by which all State taxes shall 
be collected from one source, especially from corporations, and 
county and municipal taxes from another source, in order that each 
locality shall bear its own burdens of taxation, and each officer shall 
be held strictly accountable to his own people for his acts. 

Mr. Terrell represented his district in the Twenty-sixth Legisla¬ 
ture. In that race he was victorious in the primaries over his 
fellow aspirant by a flattering majority, and in the general election 
defeated his Populist opponent, wdio had served the preceding two 
terms in the house from that district, by a safe majority. For 
his present seat he had no opposition in the primaries, but was 
again met by a Populist opponent whom he defeated by a largely 
increased majority. 

12—Gov’t. 


178 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


He was married September 10, 1896, to Miss Allie Turney of 
Jacksonville, Texas. They have two children, one girl and one 
boy. 

He is chairman of the Committee on Education, and member of 
committees: Constitutional Amendments, Public Lands and Land 
Office, Contingent Expenses, and Agricultural Affairs. 

Mr. Terrell is one of the ^ffild members,^’ and with experience to 
support his inherent fitness, he is serving his people well. He is 
a close student, giving careful attention to all the proceedings, and 
is well informed on all public questions. He makes very few 
speeches, but always performs his best work in the committee 
room. 


HOX. WESLEY M. ROBEETSOY. 

Marshall. 

The 22d, a flotorial legislative district, is composed of the coun¬ 
ties of Harrison and Gregg, and is represented in the Twenty- 
seventh Legislature by the Hon. Wesley M. Robertson of Marshall. 
He is a native of South Carolina, born May 22, 1851. His father, 
Wesley Robertson, was a South Carolina farmer and was born 
and reared in that State. He came to Texas and settled in Harri¬ 
son County in 1866. His mother, Mrs. Sallie (Kinmon) Robert¬ 
son, died in Scott County, Arkansas, in 1881. Mr. Robertson, Sr., 
had removed from Texas to that State and county a few years 
before, but after her death he returned to his Texas farm in 
Harrison County, where he died in 1891. Mr. Robertson after 
leaving school employed himself on his fathePs farm, and later 
came with his parents to Texas. He farmed two years near Mar¬ 
shall, and then began merchandising in that town, at which he 
continued with success till 1895, when he retired frim mercantile 
work. Since that time he has devoted his entire attention to the 
management of his farm, which is the same upon which he first 
located when he came to the State. 

Mr. Robertson is a Democrat, and has attended all local and 
State conventions from that which nominated Governor Roberts 
up to and including the last. He was a member of the city 
council of Marshall from 1885 to 1895, with which as an exception 
he had never held any office till he was elected to the Twenty-sixth 
Legislature. In his race for that seat his Democratic opponent 
for nomination withdrew before the meeting of the primaries, but 
in the general election he was opposed by an independent candidate 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


179 


whom he defeated by about 1500 majority. In the last race there 
were three aspirants for the Democratic nomination. He de¬ 
feated the other two by a handsome majority, and in the general 
election he had no opposition. 

Mr. Eobertson believes that the State convicts should be worked 
on the public roads, and thinks this the best method of obtaining 
good roadways, as also the most feasible plan of disposing of the 
vexed question of conflict between free and convict labor. 

He was married in 1875 to Miss Emma Board of Harrison 
County. Of their six children, three are living, viz.. Miss Latesia, 
Homer Sayers, and Hatley A. Those that have been lost to them 
are Howard, Wallace, and IJlman. He is a Christian gentJeman, 
unaffiliated with any church denomination; is a member of the 
order of Knights of Pythias. Ho has been assigned committee 
work as follows: Eailroad Commission, Finance, and Counties 
and County Boundaries. 

Experience, sagacity, and conservatism make him an able legisla¬ 
tor, and his service, taken in connection with that of his colleague, 
Mr. Blalock, makes the 22d a well represented district. 


HOX. JOHX C. HOETS. 

Jacksjioro. 

The Hon. John C. Honts represents in the Twenty-seventh 
Legislature the 105th legislative district, composed of Jack and 
Clay counties. He was born at Warrensburg, Mo., August 19, 
1866. His father, M. L. Houts, was for nearly a score of years 
one of the leading merchants of Warrensburg, but in 1874 he quit 
mercantile pursuits, and leaving Missouri came to Jack County, 
Texas, where he has since been engaged successfully in the busi¬ 
ness of farming and stock raising. His mother, Mrs. Emma C. 
(Posten) Houts, is still living; the father, mother, one daughter, 
Mrs. Ollie Lamar of Gray ford, and the subject of this sketch, ex¬ 
clusive of grandchildren, constituting the entire family. 

Mr. Houts was educated at Jacksboro College, and after leaving 
school completed the study of law, and was admitted to practice 
at the Jacksboro bar in 1891. He was elected district and county 
attorney of Jack County in 1892, which office he filled for two 
terms, or until 1896. For the last four years he has been chair¬ 
man of the Democratic executive committee of Jack County. He 
has attended nearly all State conventions since 1892, and in the 
interest of Democracy has stumped his county and district in sev- 


180 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


eral political campaigns. He was nominated over two other candi¬ 
dates in the primaries, and in the general election defeated his 
Populist opponent by 1052 majority. 

Mr. Houts would make some important changes in the land 
lease law. He would have the present system either abolished or 
move the lease line further west and south. He believes that all 
lands leased should be subject to sale. 

He was married at Jacksboro, December 19, 1894, to Miss Mag¬ 
gie Vance, daughter of George W. Vance, Esq., of that place. He 
is a member of the Methodist church, and is a Knight of Pythias. 
He is assigned to committees: Judiciary Ko. 1, Judicial Districts,, 
Stock and Stock Raising, Roads, Bridges and Ferries, and Private 
Land Claims. 

Mr. Houts is a very conservative legislator, and in him the 
whole State, as well as his immediate constituency, has a good 
representative. 


HOK. JOHX KEXNEDY. 

Houston. 

“Kennedy of Harris.” 

The 37th district, composed of Harris County, is entitled to two 
representatives in the house of the Texas Legislature, one of whom, 
elected to and now serving in the Twenty-seventh Legislature is 
the Hon. John Kennedy. He is of Irish parentage, but was born 
at Houston, Texas, December 6, 1852. His father, John Ken¬ 
nedy, Sr., came from Ireland to America in 1836, and soon there¬ 
after (1840) settled in Houston, Texas, where he was engaged 
for many years as a wholesale and retail merchant. His mother 
was Miss Matilda C. Thorn, and was also of Irish nativity. She 
and his father were married in 1850. 

After attending home schools Mr. Kennedy took a finished 
literary course at Pass Christian College, :\lississippi, graduating 
from that institution in 1872. Included in his course of studies 
was that which prepared him to take charge of his fathers ex¬ 
tensive commercial business, possessively equipped with a thor¬ 
ough business education. He remained in this position till after 
his fathers death, which occurred in 1878. He was deeply in¬ 
terested in both its progressive and economical government, and 
for a dozen years or more was called upon at different times to 
help in the administration of city affairs in the capacity of council¬ 
man. Since attaining his majorily his features, physique, and 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


181 


general personal activity have grown familiar to others who, as 
delegates, have been rc^gular attendants of the Democratic State 
conventions. He is recognized as an able campaign manager, and 
notably, in this respect, may be mentioned the work performed in 
the anti-prohibition campaign if 1887. 

He is a stanch constitutional Democrat, and as such was elected 
to the Twenty-third, to the Twenty-fourth, ami to this, the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature. He v/as married in Houston, October 
31, 1884, to Miss Emma Veazy. They have three children—John, 
William, and Mary M.,—all still at home with their parents. 

Mr. Kennedy is a lawyer by profession, a Christian gentleman, 
a Knight of Pythias, and a member of the Independent Order of 
Eed Men. 

By him and his able colleague (Mr. Griggs) the 37th district is 
well represented. 


HOK. THEOPHILUS F. MEECE. 

Livingston. 

The Hon. Theophilus F. Meece (lawyer) of Livingston repre¬ 
sents in the Twenty-seventh Legislature the counties of Polk and 
San Jacinto, which compose the 35th legislative district. He was 
born in Maury County, Tennessee, June 11, 1840. His father, 
William Carroll Meece, a farmer, also a native of Maury County, 
born December 14, 1814, came to Texas, arriving at Livingston, 
Polk County, March 20, 1856. He settled on a farm near Living¬ 
ston and lived there more than a quarter of a century, dying De¬ 
cember 11, 1881. 'His mother, prior to her marriage, was Miss 
Hannah Bennett Fields. She was born in Korth Carolina, July 
24, 1805, was married to Mr. Meece, Sr., May 31, 1838, and died 
at the Polk County, Texas, home, October 28, 1866. 

Mr. Meece was educated at the Livingston Academy, Livingston, 
Texas. From the time of his leaving school till he had reached 
his twentieth year he employed himself on his father's farm, after 
which, prior to the breaking out of the Civil war, he worked about 
a year as a merchant's clerk in a business house at Jjivingston. 
He then enlisted as a Confederate soldier, becoming a member of 
Company K, Fifth regiment Texas volunteer infantry. He en¬ 
tered the service as first corporal, was promoted to fifth sergeant 
in 1862, and in July, 1864, was made first sergeant of his com¬ 
pany. He saw much active service, as is evidenced by the follow¬ 
ing list of engagements participated in by him: Eltham’s Land- 


183 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


ing, Seven Pines, Gaines’ Mill, Malvern Hill, Freeman's Ford, 
Thoroughfare Gap, Second Manasas, Fort Hansmond, Gettysburg, 
New Market (or Darbytown Itoad), and Second White Oak, be¬ 
sides participating in the defense of Stanton Kiver, Bridge, June 
35, 1864. He was wounded at Second Manasas, again at Gettys¬ 
burg, and still again at Second White Oak. He was one of the 
remnant of the Army of A'irginia surrendering with General Lee 
at Appomattox Courthouse. After the war he returned to Liv¬ 
ingston, Texas, and was engaged in the different vocations, on 
farm, in store, at carpenter’s trade, etc., up to 1870, when he was 
appointed sheriff of Polk County. He served as sheriff until No¬ 
vember, 1873, from which time till 1884 he was in the county 
clerk’s office. In 1885 he was appointed county judge of Polk 
County, vice Judge T. T. Crossan, resigned. He was elected to 
that office at the ensuing election, serving till 1888, since which 
time he has been engaged in law, 'land, and insurance business at 
Livingston. 

He has participated in political affairs to the extent of fre¬ 
quently attending both local and State conventions; of the latter, 
notably, may be mentioned the Hogg-Clark convention at Houston. 
In 1895-’96 he was chairman of ihe county Democratic executive 
committee of his county. In his race for the Twenty-seventh 
Legislature he was nominated without opposition and Avithout 
solicitation on his part, but he Avas opposed in the general election 
by a Populist candidate, aaFoiii he defeated by 504 votes. 

He AA^as married in Polk County, Texas, May 13, 1869, to Miss 
Amelia BroAAUi. They have lost one child, AVillie IT., a daughter 
of 15 years. They have IWing G« Crge F., Mary L, Alattie M., 
James H., Bennett A., Luther M.. Thomas E., Charles S., Annie 
C., and BroAvn L. He is a member of the Baptist church, is a 
Mason, and a Knight of Honor. He is a charter member of the 
Ike Turner camp of Confederate Veterans, and Avas appointed 
Avithout his solicitation aid de camp by K. M. Van Zandt, major- 
general commanding Texas division, Avith the rank of major. 

He serA^es on committees as folloAvs: Roads, Bridges and Fer¬ 
ries, Penitentiaries, Irrigation, and Railroad Commission. 

Mr. Meece possesses much positiveness of character, but is yet 
of a quiet and unobtrusHe disposition, and at the close of his two 
years’ service in the capacity of representative, his record will show 
to his constituents that thev haA^e chosen Avell. 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


183 


HON. THOMAS C. POOLE. 

Walnut Springs. 

The Hon. Thomas C. Poole of Walnut Springs, Texas, is of 
English-German ancestry, and was born at Spartanburg Court¬ 
house, S. C., June 7, 1833. His parents, John and Mrs. C. D. 
(Dantzler) Poole were native South Carolinians, living the better 
part of their lives at Spartanburg, where their bodies now lie 
buried. He was educated at Spartanburg Academy, and later 
(March, 1856) graduated in medicine from the South Carolina 
Medical College, located at Charleston. Dr. Poole came to Texas 
in 1869, locating at Tehuacana, Limestone County. Here he 
practiced his profession nine years, and then removed to Alvarado 
(or Pleasant Point), in Johnson County. After practicing at 
this place about seven years he located at Walnut Springs, in 
Bosque County, where he has since resided. He has given a third 
of a century to the practice of medicine in Texas, and has gained 
a reputation as an excellent physician. During eight years of this 
period he served as an examiner on the medical and pharmaceuti¬ 
cal board for the 10th judicial district. 

Dr. Poole represents in the house of the Twenty-seventh Legisla¬ 
ture the 76th district, which is composed of the counties of Bosque 
and Hamilton. He was also, from the same district, a member 
of the Twenty-sixth Legislature. The interest Dr. Poole has taken 
in politics is no more than that of any other prominent citizen, 
desiring the best laws and forms of government suitable to the 
promotion of the public good. In more than a few instances, 
however, he has been called on by the exigencies of occasion to take 
part in such meetings, conventions, etc., as, by his joint action 
with others, such promotion would find its initial support. He 
was a delegate to the State convention that first nominated Gov¬ 
ernor Ireland, and has attended and participated in the proceedings 
of numerous later county, district, and State conventions. 

He entered the public service as a legislator in response to an 
earnest petition and urgent request of his Democratic fellow- 
citizens to become a candidate for the Tw'enty-sixth Legislature 
as the opponent of a very strong Populist nominee for the same 
place. He defeated this opponent by 700 votes, and at the last 
general election for his seat in the present house he defeated an 
independent candidate, who was a member of the Twenty-fourth 
and Twenty-fifth Legislatures, by a majority of more than 1000 
votes. 


184 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Dr. Poole served in the army of Virginia as a Confederate 
officer throughout the entire Civil war. He was a member of the 
corps of surgeons, and was attached for the first year to the First 
South Carolina regiment of volunteers, commanded by Colonel 
(afterwards General) Johnson Hagood. The remainder of the 
war he was with the Eleventh regiment of South Carolina volun¬ 
teers in the capacity of assistant surgeon. 

Dr. Poole was first married to Miss Emma C. May of Charleston 
County, South Carolina, in October, 1857. She died at Benton- 
ville. Ark., in 1889. His second wife was Mrs. HeffieHIutchison 
of Mansfield, Texas, who lived but one year after their marriage. 
His present wife was formerly Mrs. M. J. Duncan of Walnut 
Springs. One son, David Y. Poole, whose mother was the first 
wife of Dr. Poole, is his only living child. 

Dr. Poole is usually in his seat and is an energetic worker, 
though the oldest member of the present house of representatives. 
In the Twenty-sixth Legislature he was the champion of the ‘'^anti- 
cocaine bill,^’ and he is now chairman of the Committee on Public 
Health and Vital Statistics, besides serving on other important 
committees. He is a gentleman of the old school, a member of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian church, and is a Eoyal Arch Mason. 


HOY. SAMUEL E. BOYD. 

ft 

Hubbard City. 

The 75th district, composed of Hill County, is represented in 
the house of the Twenty-seventh Texas Legislature by the Hon. 
Samuel E. Boyd of Hubbard City. His father was a native of 
Scotland. On coming to this country he first made his home in 
South Carolina, where he was married to Miss Elizabeth Eobinson, 
the mother of Mr. Boyd. Soon after their marriage they removed 
to Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, where this son was born April 
29, 1853. In his early youth his father died, and in 1857 he came 
with his mother to Texas and settled in Montgomery County. In 
the common schools of Texas and Mississippi he acquired a good 
English education, after which he attended the Stonewall College 
at Cross Plains, and afterward Vanderbilt University in the law 
department of that institution. After leaving the latter university 
he went to Choctaw County, Mississippi, and was there, in 1876, 
admitted to the bar, where for ten years he practiced his profession, 
and then he came again to Texas, locating at his present home in 
Hill County. He has been an active practitioner; was four years 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


185 


city attorney of Hubbard City (1892 to 1897) and at the same 
time was deputized and acted as assistant county attorney of Hill 
County. Since that time he has been engaged in a large private 
practice, in connection with which he has operated extensively in 
real estate transactions. He is recognized as a worker in both 
local and State politics. He has attended every home precinct and 
county and every State convention since 1890. During the cele¬ 
brated Hogg-Clark campaign he was an ardent supporter of Gov¬ 
ernor Hogg and stumped his section in the interest of his favorite 
candidate. He had two opponents in his race for the Legislature 
at this term, and out of about 6000 votes cast for the three can¬ 
didates he received 4253. He favors a minimum measure of new 
legislation, and thinks the principal work of the session should be 
the repealing or amending of old laws. He was married in Choc¬ 
taw County, Mississippi, May 13, 1883, to Miss Mary Pleaman 
Buck. His oldest daughter, Mary Eulalie, was married in May, 
1899, to Mr. Lee Frisby, the present deputy county attorney of 
Hill County and city attorney of Hubbard City; his other two 
children, Fred and Maggie Pearl, are still at home with their 
parents. Mr. Boyd is now associated with his son-in-law in prac¬ 
tice at Hubbard City, together composing the law firm of Boyd & 
Frisby. He is a member of and (3lder in the Old School Presby¬ 
terian church; is also a Mason, a Woodman of the World, and a 
Knight of Pythias. 

He is serving on the following named committees: Finance, 
Penitentiary Board, Eoads, Bridges and Ferries, Private Land 
Claims, and is chairman of the committee to investigate and re¬ 
port on the condition of the State reformatory at Gatesville, 
Texas. 


HO^sL JOHN T. KOWLAKD. 

Kocoxa. 

Montague County, composing the 10th district, is represented in 
the house of the Twenty-seventh Legislature by the Hon. John T. 
Eowland of Nocona, Texas. He was born in Davis County, Mis¬ 
souri, February 24, 1834. He is the son of David and Betsey 
(Lee) Eowland. His father was a prosperous Missouri farmer, 
and his mother was a cousin of General Eobert E. Lee. They 
both lived to a ripe old age, and died in Davis County, Missouri. 
In the days of Mr. Eowland^s youth educational facilities in his 
native State were not so good as they are at present. But few 


186 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


enjoyed the advantages of obtaining in school a good common 
education, and unfortunately the conditions surrounding his early 
life were such as to place him with this class. However, he ob¬ 
tained a knowledge of books, enabling him to pursue, privately, a 
course of study that led to his acquiring a fair English education. 
He was married January 19, 1854, to Miss Catherine Davidson of 
Platte City, Mo., and two years later came to Texas, stopping near 
Gainesville, in Cook County, where he engaged in farming till the 
breaking out of the Civil war. He entered the Confederate army 
as captain of Company A, First Texas volunteer regiment, in which 
command he served throughout the war. Eeturning to Cook 
County, after being discharged from service in 1865, he con¬ 
structed and equipped a saw and grist mill at Gainesville, and 
operated the same till 1871, when, as one of the partners com¬ 
posing the firm of Eowland & Eowling, he embarked in a general 
mercantile business at Gainesville. In connection with this, in 
1873, he became a partner in the piivate banking business of Put¬ 
man, Chambers & Co., but in 1887 closed out this interest and 
helped to organize the First National Bank of Gainesville, and 
still later (1882) joined in establishing the Gainesville National 
Bank. He was a principal stockholder in and a director of the 
last named bank for seven years, when he closed out all of his 
business interests in Gainesville and Cook County and removed 
to Montague, Avhere he engaged largely in the business of farming 
and stock raising. While a citizen of Cook County he was for 
two terms, 1872 to 1876, inclusive, county treasurer. In 1885 and 
1886 he was mayor of the city of Gainesville. During this time 
the present excellent system of waterworks and sewerage was 
brought into existence. He was the leading member of the firm 
of Eowland & Sons, wholesale and retail grocers of Gainesville, for 
a long time one of the largest mercantile establishments in that 
section. 

Mr. Eowlaud is known to be a sterling Democrat. He was in¬ 
duced to accept the nomination as representative by a petition of 
his fellow citizens signed by more than three hundred subscribers. 
Montague County is so largely Democratic that nomination on that 
ticket is equivalent to election. It may be said therefore that 
Mr. Eowland was sent to the Legislature without opposition. He 
introduced two bills that became laws with but little change from 
the form in which they were presented. The first was a proposed 
change of the law relating to an extension of the period of time 
embracing the scholastic age; the second an amendment of the 
law relating to gaming with cards in private as well as public 
places. As a legislator he is regarded by his fellow representatives 


TEXAS OEEIOIALS. 


i8r 

as being able and conservative. Thongh unassuming, his opinions 
are in the main readily formed and expressed without halting or 
hesitation. He votes aye or nay, as the case may be, with that 
firmness which characterizes decision. He is a member of the 
following named committees: Roads, Bridges and Ferries, Public 
Debt, Stock and Stock Raising, Irrigation, and Finance. 

He is a member of the Baptist church, and a Mason of the 
Knight Templar degree. He has an interesting family, his sons 
ranking with the best citizens of the country. His oldest son, 
W. D., is now serving his fifth term as county treasurer of Cook 
County, and his other three sons, Robert L., James M., and John 
W., are prominent farmers and stock raisers in Montague County. 
Verily his life, whether under review of its past, in consideration of 
its present, or presented through ihe hopeful light of a promising 
future, offers little to mar the lines of complacency. 


HOK. WILLIAM J. BULLOCK. 

Iowa Park. 

District 103, composed of Wichita and Wilbarger counties, is 
represented in the house of the Twenty-seventh Legislature by the 
Hon. William J. Bullock of Iowa Park. He was born in Sullivan 
County, Tennessee, October 24, 1865, and came to Texas in 1890. 
He went to Wichita County and at first engaged in farming, but 
later went into the mercantile business at Iowa Park, where he 
has since lived. 

His father, A. H. Bullock, was county clerk and afterwards cir¬ 
cuit clerk of Sullivan County, the two terms of service covering 
a period of about fifteen years. LTnder the first administration of 
President Cleveland he was chief clerk of the internal revenue 
office for the 2d district of Tennessee. He is now one of the 
justices of Washington County (an office having the jurisdiction of 
an inferior court), and at present lives at Johnson City. His 
mother, Mrs. Sarah E. Bullock, was the daughter of Joseph 
Meredith, a prominent mill man and manufacturer of Bristol,. 
Tenn. She died near Bristol in 1890. 

Mr. Bullock was educated at Milligan College, Tennessee. In 
early manhood, as deputy clerk, he assisted his father in the per¬ 
formance of his official duties. Later, under the first adminis¬ 
tration of President Cleveland, he was for four years assistant 
postmaster at Bluff City, Tenn. After this, before coming to 
Texas, he did clerical work for the East Tennessee, Virginia & 


188 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Georgia Railway for about two years. Mr. Bullock was a promi¬ 
nent candidate for the Twenty-fifth Legislature, but retired in the 
interest of Democracy, though his own election was almost assured. 
He was, however, an officer of that assembly, serving as a commit¬ 
tee clerk in the house; as he was also of the Twenty-sixth, serving 
in that capacity in the senate. 

He was nominated in the primaries over his competing aspirant 
by 108 votes majority, and in the general election his only op¬ 
ponent was a Socialist, who received but 65 votes in the district. 

Mr. Bullock has introduced a bill allowing the State Board of 
Education to invest the public permanent school fund in the bonds 
of independent school districts, so that the million-dollar surplus 
now in the State treasury might have a field for profitable invest¬ 
ment, and thus afford means of constructing much needed school 
buildings throughout the State. 

He was married at Wichita Falls, July 20, 1898, to Miss Ora 
L. Carnes, daughter of J. C. Carnes of that place. They have 
recently been bereaved by the death of their little daughter, Ruth 
C., who was taken from them January 13th of the present year. 
He is a member of the Christian church and is a Mason and an 
Odd Fellow. He has been assigned work on committees: Educa¬ 
tion, State Affairs, Stock and Stock Raising, Engrossed Bills, 
Public Printing, and Irrigation. 

Mr. Bullock as a legislator assumes that no question upon which 
he is called to vote is of so trivial a character as to be unworthy 
of thoughtful consideration. He weighs well all matters pre¬ 
sented, follows his judgment, and is usually found on the right 
side of safe legislation. 


HOK OLIVER C. SEARCY. 

Hallettsville. 

The Hon. Oliver C. Searcy of Hallettsville represents in the 
house of the Twenty-seventh Legislature the county of Lavaca, 
which composes the 44th district. He was born at Lebanon, Tenn., 
August 24, 1838. He is the son of W. W. and Mrs. Catherine 
(Marshall) Searcy, who came to Texas from Tennessee in 1859 
and settled in Lavaca County. He was recording clerk for Gov¬ 
ernor Coke during his administration as Governor. His father 
died at Hallettsville, Lavaca County, in 1881. His brother I. G. 
Searcy was Secretary of State during Governor Hubbard's ad¬ 
ministration in 1881. His mother was the daughter of the Hon. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


189 


David Marshall of Lebanon, Tenn. She died at the Lavaca home 
in 1867. 

Mr. Searcy was educated at the West Tennessee College, Jackson, 
Tenn., and after leaving college pursued the business of civil 
engineering. He was engaged two years with an engineering corps 
in the construction of the Mobile & Ohio and the Mississippi Cen¬ 
tral railroads. In 1855 he abandoned this pursuit and came to 
Hallettsville, Lavaca County, Texas, which with the exception of 
a few years has been his permanent home. He was district clerk 
of Lavaca County from 1884 to .1894, after which he returned to 
his farm and followed his old vocation by giving this business his 
personal attention. He had never engaged to any great extent 
in politics till after his party was defeated in 1898 in the election 
of a county Democratic ticket. He then became active with other 
Democrats in their general efiori to restore normal local party 
conditions. 

He entered the race for representative as a candidate appointed 
by his county Democratic executive committee, the regular nominee 
of the convention having withdrawn. In the general election he 
was opposed by a very strong Populist, who had been elected over 
a Democrat to the Twenty-sixth Legislature. Mr. Searcy was 
elected by a majority of 10 votes. This was very close, but it was, 
after all, a triumph, as he had reduced the vote of his opponent 
from a previous majority of 300. He served in the Eanger service 
under Colonel Kip Ford and Shapley Ross in 1858-^59, and had 
some ‘^‘'close calls^^ in that service. He was in the Confederate 
army, first in WhitfiekPs legion, and afterwards with Pete Harde- 
man^s regiment. He was a member of the latter command when 
mustered out of service. 

He was married at Hallettsville, Texas, January 8, 1861, to 
Miss Mary J. May, daughter of WiJliam May. They have a large 
family of eleven children, nearly all of whom have reached ma¬ 
turity and have left the parental home. As a member of commit¬ 
tees he serves on the following: Commerce and Manufactures, 
Privileges and Elections, Public Buildings and Grounds, and 
Federal Relations. 

Mr. Searcy is a member of the order of Odd Fellows. He is a 
very quiet but observant legislator, and votes aye or nay as the 
case may be with the emphasis of deliberate decision. 


190 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HO^s". RICHAED D. MUGG. 

^^ERI. 

The Hon. Richard D. Mhgg, residing at Neri, Hood County, 
Texas, a teacher by profession, was born at Weston, Collin County, 
Texas, January 7, 1868. He represents the 80th flotorial district, 
composed of the counties of Hood, Parker, and Tarrant, in the 
house of the Twenty-seventh Texas Legislature. His ancestors 
were of Scotch and Irish nativity, hut the name is Scotch. They 
came to this country in the latter part of the Seventeenth century 
and settled in Indiana. Mr. Mugg^s immediate family, however, 
came to Texas in 1853. His grandfather, Richard Milton Mugg, 
was a Baptist minister in the early days of Texas. His father, 
Robert Mugg, was born in Indiana in 1844 and died near Lipan, 
Texas, in 1886. His mother was Miss Charity E. Best before she 
married his father. His mother is still living near Lipan. 

Mr. Mugg was educated at Add-Ran University, Texas, then 
located at Thorp Springs. He holds a permanent certificate to 
teach, issued by the State Board of Education. He has been 
teaching school since 1886 principally in the counties of Hood, 
Parker, and Palo Pinto. He has always been a Democrat, has 
done much local work for that party, and was a delegate from 
Hood County to the Democratic State convention held at Austin 
in 1900. His opponents in the primaries were ex-Land Commis¬ 
sioner Hon. W. L. McGaughey and Hon. A. P. Gordon. He re¬ 
ceived the flotorial nomination at Fort Worth, July 13, 1900. 
He was opposed in the general election by Judge I. N. Haney, a 
Republican of Weatherford, whom he defeated by a majority of 
about 8000 out of 12,000 votes in the district. He is opposed to 
a constitutional convention, believing that the people of Texas are 
enjoying prosperity at present. He is one who believes that the 
people who are least governed are best governed and that few laws 
are necessary. 

Richard D. Mugg was married to Miss Cora Smith, the daughter 
of the Rev. H. B. Smith of Stephensville, Texas, on the 20th of 
October, 1897. Mr. Mugg is a member of the Christian church, 
a Mason, and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel¬ 
lows. 

Mr. Mugg serves on the following committees: Constitutional 
Amendments, Education, Roads, Bridges and Ferries, Public 
Lands and Land Office, and State Asylums. He is of a quiet 
turn, but is a man of ready decision, and is a representative in 
whose beeping the interests of his constituents are safe. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


191 


HON. JOHN L. GOODMAN. 

Heath. 

The Hon. John L. Goodman of the Twenty-seventh Legislature, 
who represents the TJth Hotorial district, composed of Dallas and 
Hockwall counties, is an ‘^old member,’^ having represented the 
same district in the Twenty-sixth Legislature. He was born in 
North Carolina, February 13, 1838, but his parents, Hiram and 
Mrs. Jane (Williford) Goodman, when he was quite young re¬ 
moved to Harris County, Georgia, where he was reared and edu¬ 
cated. Quitting school before reaching his majority, he left 
Georgia to go to Lawrence County, Alabama, where on his own 
account he farmed four years. He was yet under the age of 21 
when he went from that place to d.Mnica County, Mississippi, and 
there directed the management of a large plantation. The next 
year, 1860, he returned to Georgia and engaged in mercantile 
business at White Sulphur Springs. In 1861 he answered the 
call to arms, and enlisted as a member of Company H, Seventeenth 
Georgia regiment of volunteer infantry. With this regiment he 
served in the Army of Northern Tirginia to the close of the war. 
That it saw hard service is evidenced by its decimation. When 
Company H first paraded itself as a divisional part of that regi¬ 
ment it carried on its muster roll the names of 125 stalwart and 
chivalric young Georgians; at Appomattox only eight of these stood 
in line as survivors of the heroic but fruitless struggle they had 
made. Of this number, their commanding officer, Captain J. L. 
Goodman, who is the subject of this sketch, was one. He had 
risen from the ranks (first corporal) to the command of his com¬ 
pany, and had gone through four years of hardship and carnage 
with the few who escaped wounds or other great physical injury. 
After the war he returned to Georgia, where he remained till 
1875, when he came to Texas. Since the war, in both Georgia 
and Texas, he has pursued the industry of farming, and is now a 
prosperous and successful farmer in the county from which he 
hails, and which forms a part of his legislative district. 

Mr. Goodman, as a Texas citizen, has always shown much in¬ 
terest in the good government of his State and in the proper 
administration of the local affairs of his community, but he is not 
a politician. In each of the primary elections nominating him for 
the Legislature he had three opponents, but he was chosen both 
times by a very flattering majority vote. In the first general 
election an opposition political candidate was defeated by him 


192 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


(about 1000 majority), but in his last race he was elected without 
opposition. 

He was married in 1876 to Miss Anna Burch of Eockwall 
County. Their children are: W. P., a son about 21 years old, 
and four daughters—Lula, Clara May, Stella, and Edna—the 
youngest a babe. 

He serves on committees as follows: County Government and 
County Finances, Public Lands and Land Office, and Agricultural 
Affairs. 

Mr. Goodman is a member of the Baptist church, and belongs- 
to the Masonic fraternity. He possesses native intelligence and 
education which, supported by the experience of a long life,, 
eminently tit him for the station he occupies. 


HON. JAMES L. HAEBINSON. 


Collinsville. 

Grayson County, composing the 8th legislative district, is repre¬ 
sented in the Twenty-seventh Legislature by the Hon. James L. 
Harbinson of Collinsville. He was born in Columbia County, 
Arkansas, December 17, I860. He is of Scotch and Irish descent. 
His grandfather, John Harbinson, was a native of South Carolina, 
but born of Scotch parentage. He emigrated from that State to 
Georgia, and later to Talladega County, Alabama, where, after 
long residence as a citizen, he died in 1880. His father, John G. 
B. Harbinson, was born in Georgia, but was raised principally in 
Alabama. He went to south Arkansas in 1855, and when a few 
years later the Civil war came on, he enlisted as a Confederate 
soldier, and after giving three years to the service of the lost 
cause, just before its close he died at Shreveport, La. His mother, 
Mrs. Mary Harbinson, was the daughter of William Nisbit, a 
native of Ireland, who came to this country in 1805 and settled in 
Alabama. She still lives at her old home near Village, Ark. 

Mr. Harbinson received his finishing course of education at 
Ouchita Seminar}^ Arkansas. After leaving school he studied 
law in the office of Congressman T. C. McEea, at Prescott, Ark., 
and in 1885 was there admitted to the bar. Soon after he entered 
upon the duties of a more active business life and has never prac¬ 
ticed the profession. He immediately came to Texas, and in 
1886 taught school the better part of the year near Mexia, in 
Limestone County. The next year he went to Collinsville, in 
Grayson County, and engaged in mercantile business. He is still 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


193 


there and has been most highly successful as a merchant and 
general business man. He has dealt extensively in real estate, and 
now owns and operates several fine farms in Gtayson County. 

He has also proved himself valuable to his community by investing 
largely in town improvements. He has built for his own occu¬ 
pancy a handsome brick residence, and had constructed for leasing 
five large brick buildings for business purposes, including the 
Collinsville Opera-house, the Masonic Temple, and the Odd Fel¬ 
lows Hall. 

Mr. Harbinson has been mayor, alderman, etc., of his town, but 
he has never before filled any political office. He has, however, 
given close attention to the administration of his county’s affairs, 
and to this end he nearly always participates in the actions of 
the county and district conventions. As a delegate or otherwise 
he has also attended many of the Democratic State conventions. 

In the race for his present seat he was opposed in the primaries 
by eight other Democrats seeking nomination. He was successful, ^ 
leading the next highest candidare by about 1000 votes. In the 
general election, though there was another candidate, he had prac¬ 
tically no opposition. 

He would like to see a law enacted that would restrict or pro¬ 
hibit the corrupt use of money in elections, especially as to the 
primaries. He was married at Collinsville in 1887 to Miss Hattie 
Lamb. They have three children—Edna, Mary, and John Harvey, 
aged respectively 8, 6, and 3 years. He is a member of the Meth¬ 
odist church, is a Mason, an Odd Fellow, a Woodman of the World, 
and a member of the Home Forum. He serves on committees: 
Finance, Eevenue and Taxation, and Privileges and Elections. 

Mr. Harbinson is a man of quick conception and decisive action, 
and shows himself fully capable of performing the duty assigned 
him by his constituents. 


HOX. WILLIAM 0. MURRAY. 

Floresville. 

The Hon. William 0. Murray of Floresville represents in the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature the counties of Wilson, Karnes, Atas¬ 
cosa, and Live Oak, which compose the 88th legislative district. 
On his father’s side he is of Scotch lineage. His grandfather, 
Owen Murray, was a native of Xorth Carolina. He emigrated to' 
Texas in 1856, where he lived the remainder of his life, dying about 
the year 1887. 

13—Gov’t. 


194 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


Mr. Murray was born at Versailles, Mo., October 22, 1857. His 
father, A. W. Murray, moved to Texas in 1859 from Missouri, 
where he had been in business. He is now a merchant at Flores- 
ville. He was for some years sheriff and tax collector of Wilson 
County. Mrs. Nannie E. Murray, mother of the subject of this 
notice, was a daughter of the Eev. William Mobley, a Baptist 
minister, who was almost a lifelong residenl of Versailles, Mo. 
She died in March, 1891, and is buried at Floresville, Texas. It 
is said Mr. Murray claims that all he is and all he hopes to be 
is due to his motheFs influence, supplemented by that of his wife. 
He says that: ‘^Two of the best women that ever lived are, one, 
my mother, and the other my wife."^ 

Mr. Murray was educated in the common schools of Texas, after 
which he served as deputy county clerk for nearly four years, 
terminating in 1884. During this time he studied law, but instead 
of entering the practice he preferred the mercantile business, which 
he has followed as a life pursuit. His health gave way about three 
years ago (1897), and he then took in two partners, J. C. Houston 
and G. E. Tullas; the firm has since been Murray, Houston & Co. 
They have three stores—one located at Floresville; one at Fair- 
view, Wilson County; and one at Eunge, in Karnes County. Mr. 
Murray is also interested in farming and stock raising. 

He has always been an active local worker for his party. He 
was instrumental in the incorporating of his city, Floresville, and 
from that time till his election to a seat in the house of the 
Twenty-sixth Legislature he was one of its aldermanic board. As 
a representative in the Twenty-sixth Legislature he was nominated 
by the Democrats of his district without solicitation on his part, 
and in the general election he had no opponent. He was likewise 
nominated for his present seat in the house, and was elected with¬ 
out opposition. 

In the matter of legislation Mr. Murray thinks the State of 
Texas is confronted by two problems. He regards as one of the 
most important questions with which the State will have to deal, 
but which is now attracting little attention, ‘^^What are we going 
to do with our State convictsAnother is: “How are we to 
secure good roads or public highways?’^ He believes the State 
convicts should be worked on the public roads. He is chairman of 
the Committee on Eoads, Bridges and Ferries. He is also ranking 
member of the Committee on Finance, besides being a member of 
several other committees. 

He was married October 10, 1883, to Miss Ella S. Peacock of 
Floresville, Texas. They have four children—two daughters. 
Misses Mattie and Ida May, and two sons, William and De Witt. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


195 


He is a member of the Presbyterian church and belongs to the 
Masonic order. 

Mr. Murray made a good record in the Twenty-sixth Legislature, 
and he is regarded as a strong man in the present assembly. 

HON. JOHN M. GEEEN. 

Yoakum. 

The Hon. John M. Green of Yoakum, Texas, representative from 
the 82d district, composed of De Witt and Goliad counties, was 
born in Fayette County, Texas, August 4, 1861. His aged father, 
Eev. Lee Green, removed to Texas in 1851 and for more than fifty 
years has been a prominent minister in Fayette and Lavaca coun¬ 
ties ; Rev. Lee Green is a zealous patriarch and devout servant of 
God. He is now more than 82 years old, and is the father of nine 
children. The youngest of these is John M. Green. Of the nine 
children only three now survive. Mrs. Lucretia Green, mother * 
of John M., was the daughter of Mr. John Middleton, a rich 
slaveowner and pioneer settler of Mississippi. She was married 
to Rev. Lee Green in 1841. Their long and happy union was 
terminated by her death on January 21, 1887. 

Mr. Greenes literary advantages were somewhat meager. He re¬ 
ceived what was then a common school education, finishing his 
academic training at the Agricultural and Mechanical College in 
1883. He entered the law department of the State University 
in 1884, graduating with the LL. B. degree in 1886. While in the 
University he achieved much distinction. His class record, his 
speeches and ability shown in the debating societies, and his active 
participation in college affairs, attest his diligence and studious¬ 
ness. 

Immediately after graduation he entered upon the practice of 
law. From that time on his practice and reputation have so in¬ 
creased until now the practice of the firm of Price, Green & Green, 
of which he is a member, extends over the entire southwestern 
portion of the State. 

Politically Mr. Green is a Democrat, although elected to the 
house of representatives without opposition by Democrats, Repub¬ 
licans, and Populists. His views are always progressive. As a 
speaker he is very magnetic, possessing a commanding presence 
upon the floor, a clear, ringing voice, and a splendid command of 
language. Although a new member, Mr. Green received the chair¬ 
manship of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, and he 


196 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


has shown in many other ways his ability as a lawmaker. He is 
a member of Judiciary No. 1, Finance, Constitutional Amend¬ 
ments, and Judicial Districts. 

Mr. Green was married to Miss Sallie Strickland, a native of 
Mississippi. Miss Strickland was a graduate of Whiteworth Col¬ 
lege, Brookhaven, Miss., and otherwise a woman of high culture 
and talent. 

Mr. Green is the father of five children, over whom he exercises 
the tenderest and most devoted watchfulness and care. His eldest 
child, a girl of 10, is just now, by her intellectual development, 
beginning to reward her father’s love and care. At home, as 
well as elsewhere, he is remarkable for his jovial and cheerful 
disposition. He is a great reader, and in his home is to be found 
a large and wisely selected library, comprising many of the classics 
and standard works of poetry and fiction. With his books and 
faiiiily he spends his evenings an<i time when not engaged in the- 
practice of his profession or in the discharge of public duties. 
Mr. Green has been for many years a member of the Baptist 
church. His private business includes an interest in the First 
National Bank of Yoakum, of which he is vice-president and gen¬ 
eral attorney. His manner is gentle and unobtrusive, and a quiet,. 
subtle humor pervades his temperament. 


HON. PHIL. H. CLEMENTS. 

GoLDTH WAITE. 

The Hon. Phil. H. Clements of Goldthwaite was born at Leba¬ 
non, Ind., February 8, 1854. His father, William H. Clements, 
was an Indiana farmer, and lived in Boone County of that State' 
forty-five years, after which, in 1819, he moved to Wilson County, 
Kansas, where ten years later he died. His mother was Miss Eliza¬ 
beth Brown, daughter of John Brown, and a native of East Ten¬ 
nessee. She survives her husband, and now in her declining years 
lives with her son, the subject of this sketch, at Goldthwaite, 
Texas. 

Mr. Clements represents in the Twenty-seventh Legislature the 
counties of Mills, San Saba, McCulloch, and Concho, which com¬ 
pose the 94th representative district. 

In his youth he attended the common schools of Indiana, but 
finished a higher course at Eureka College, Illinois. After this he 
taught five years in the public schools of Indiana, and again taught 
the next succeeding five years in Texas. At the end of this time 





TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


197 


he embarked in the insurance business, connected with which he 
has conducted a real estate agency. In the matter of public service 
Mr. Clements was county clerk of Mills County, 1886 and 1888; 
was county judge of the same county in 1894 and 1896, and was a 
member of the Twenty-sixth Legislature. In his first race for the 
Legislature he was opposed by a Populist candidate, whom he 
defeated by a large majority. In the race for the Twenty-seventh 
house he had no opposition. 

Mr. Clements was married June 27, 1877, to Miss Emma Good¬ 
win of Lebanon, Ind. They have two sons and one daughter. 
The oldest son, Eodger E., is a business partner with his father at 
Goldthwaite; his daughter, Eula B., is married to Mr. Thomas 
Nichols of Picton, Hopkins County, Texas, and the youngest son, 
a lad, is now at home. 

He is chairman of Committee on Claims and Accounts, and 
member of committees: Finance, Insurance, Statistics and His¬ 
tory, and Constitutional Amendments. He is a member of the 
Presbyterian church and a prominent Mason. Mr. Clements is a 
man of unwavering convictions and positive character, and is con¬ 
sidered an able representative. 


HON. OLIVER C. MULKEY. 


Commerce. 


Prior to the American Revolution the ancestors of the Mulkey 
family, from which the subject of this sketch is descended, came 
from Ireland to this country, and during that struggle took cause 
with the patriotic colonists, and with them bore arms in the fight 
for American independence. Their descendants have been nu¬ 
merous, spreading out and extending family branches till almost 
every section of the United States may claim its representative 
resident, and among whom may be found those filling severally or 
variedly all the many different business and professional walks 
of life. 

The Hon. 0. C. Mulkey represents in the house of the Twenty- 
seventh Legislature the 17th flotorial district, composed of Hunt 
and Kaufman counties. He was born in Clay County, Tennessee, 
February 13, 1864, of which State his immediate antecedents 
were citizens and residents. His parents. Dr. E. F. and Mrs. 
Mary D. (Fowler) Mulkey, came to Texas in 1880, settling near 
Tom Bean, in Grayson County. Mr. Mulkey was then 16 years 
old, and two years later finished the common school curriculum in 


198 


BIOGKAPIIICAL SKETCHES 


the public schools of Grayson Count}^ He had resolved to enter 
the profession of law, and realizing that, to rise above a common¬ 
place position as a lawyer, higher educational equipment would be 
necessary, he accordingly determined to take a thorough collegiate 
course. To accomplish this end, ability, purpose, time, and means 
were necessary. Of these, the first named three essentials were at 
his command, but the financial element was to be provided, and 
that by himself. To work his way he began teaching, and during 
intervals between sessions of his schools he frequently engaged as a 
common farm laborer with his father or other farmers, keeping 
busy and constantly employed, however small the compensation, 
till a sufficient amount had been saved to defray his expenses at 
college. When this preparation had been made, he entered Savoy 
College, Fannin County, from which in due course he graduated, 
taking the B. S. degree. He remained, and after this completed 
a business and commercial course in the same institution. During 
all this time Mr. Mulkey had ever kept in sight the original object 
of his pursuit. Here a rudiment had been learned; there an ele¬ 
ment had been comprehended; now a point of law knowledge had 
been grasped ; next a principle of law practice had been mastered. 
Everywhere if convenient, and always when opportune, he was a 
student in that science the intricacies of which he must needs 
later understand. By the knowledge thus gained he was enabled 
to enter the law office of Craig & Wolfe, at McKinney, Texas, in 
the double capacity of student and office assistant, where he re¬ 
mained till he had fitted himself for practice. As an incident 
showing the character of Mr. Mulkey for energy and perseverance, 
it may be related that his place of abode, during this period of law 
study, was five miles distant from his office, yet he made the trip 
to and from each day, and it was the rarest occurrence that he 
made it otherwise than on foot. As an office man his presence 
was necessary, and it is known that during this time he never 
missed a day or failed to be on time. After being admitted to the 
bar he located at Commerce, Hunt County, where he has since 
remained and engaged in a profitable practice. Notes referring to 
his political life show that he has been mayor of his town, 1896 to 
1900; that for the last twelve years he has been a regular delegate 
to his county and the district and State conventions; that for sev¬ 
eral campaigns, whenever party success demanded, he has, as a 
public speaker and otherwise, entered the canvass; that his per¬ 
sonal and political popularity is such that he was elected to the 
Twenty-seventh Legislature without opposition, either in the pri¬ 
maries or in the general election. 

Mr. Mulkey was married to Miss Jennie I. Orenduff, at Melissa, 





TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


199 


Collin County, March 8, 1888. He has three little daughters— 
Mary, Suetta, and Maurine. He is a member of the Christian 
church, and an Odd Fellow and a Mason of high degree. The 
same character of energy manifested in his private walk of life is 
seen in his legislative work. His constituency have in him an 
able representative. 


• HOIST. DAVID A. McFALL. 

Austin. 

Travis County, composing the oOth legislative district, has for 
one of its two representatives the Hon. D. A. McFall of Austin. 
He is a native of Nashville, Tenn., born March 20, 1870. He is 
of Scotch-Irish lineage, and is the son of J. K. P. McFall and 
Mrs. Mary (Patterson) McFall, both of whom were born and 
reared in Tennessee, but are now residents of the city of Austin, 
Texas. 

Judge McFall was educated primarily in the public schools of 
Austin. He was graduated from the University of Texas, taking 
the LL. B. degree, in 1891. He immediately entered upon the 
practice of his profession in the city of Austin, and has since 
been actively engaged at that bar and in the courts of adjacent 
judicial territory. He was elected to the house of the Twenty- 
third Legislature, and though one of the youngest members of that 
body, he served with- distinction. He was afterwards elected 
county judge of Travis County and served one term, 1894 to 1896. 
Before the Democratic primaries for his present seat in the Legis¬ 
lature he was opposed by four aspirants. He was one of the two 
receiving the nominating vote. In the general election he and 
his colleague, the Hon. E. T. Moore, were elected by a handsome 
majority. 

He was married August 15, 1900, to Miss Mary Bosa Bussell 
of Columbus, Ga. He is a member of the Southern Presbyterian 
church; is a Knight of Pythias; belongs to the Maccabees, and is 
a Woodman of the World. 

Judge McFall serves on the following committees: Chairman 
of Public Buildings and Grounds, and is a member of Judiciary 
No. 1, Labor, and Mining and Minerals. 


200 


BIOGIiAPIIICAL SKETCHES 


HON^. TlI(3MxVS H. XOLAX. 

Galveston. 

The Hon. Thomas H. Xolan, native of Ireland, born May 11, 
1856, is one of the two representatives of the 39th legislative dis¬ 
trict, Galveston County. He was a member of the Twenty-third 
and Twenty-sixth Legislatures. He is a ^^platfornT^ Democrat; is 
married, and has an interesting family of children. He serves on 
the following committees: Finance, Eevenue and Taxation, 
Towns and City Corporations, and Eailroad Commission. 


HOX. W. J. BEYAX. 

Abilene. 

The 107th legislative district, composed of the counties of Jones, 
Shackleford, Taylor, and Calhoun, is represented by the Hon. W. 
J. Bryan of Abilene. Mr. Bryan is a native of Texas, and is about 
39 years old. He is a stockman, and is a Democrat. He serves 
on the following committees: Public Lands and Land Office, Pri¬ 
vate Land Claims, State Asylums, and Irrigation. 


HOX. ELVIS A. CALVIX. 

Paris. 

The Hon. E. A. Calvin, one of the two representatives from La¬ 
mar, 6th legislative district, was born in Boone County, Missouri, 
February 26, 1876; lawyer; Democrat; married; member of the 
Twenty-sixth Legislature. Serves on committees: State Affairs, 
Education, Insurance, Statistics and History, and Contingent Ex¬ 
penses. 


HOX. ABEAM T. COLE. 

Cleburne 

The 69th legislative district, Jo’nnson County, is represented by 
the Hon. Abram T. Cole, who was also a member of the Twenty- 
sixth house. He was born at Yellville, Ark., Xovember 25, 1870. 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


201 


He is a lawyer; is a Democrat; member of the Baptist church; 
unmarried. Serves on committees: Eules, Judiciary I^^o. 1, Edu¬ 
cation, Eoads, Bridges and Ferries, and' Private Land Claims. Mr. 
Cole was also a member of the “BaiJey investigating committee.'' 


HON. WILLIAM A. CKADDOClv. 

Kodgers. 

The Hon. William A. Craddock, one of the representatives from 
Bell, the 65th legislative district, is a native of Texas, born in Bell 
County, June 1, 1863; merchant and farmer; Democrat. Serves 
on committees: Finance, Agricultural Affairs, Roads, Bridges and 
Ferries, and Commerce and Manufactures. 


HON. SILAS R. CRAWFORD. 

Graham. 

The Hon. Silas R. Crawford, representing the 104th legislative 
district—Stephens, Young, Archer, Baylor, and Knox counties— 
is a native of West Virginia, born in Wayne County, March 9, 1847. 
He was elected at a special election held in his district to fill the 
unexpired term of the Hon. A. T. Gay, deceased. He is a ranch¬ 
man and stock raiser; Democrat; prominent Mason. Serves on 
committees: Education, Revenue and Taxation, Insurance, Stat¬ 
istics and History, Mining and Minerals, and Irrigation. 


HON. JOHN M. DEAN. 

Ben Wheeler. 

The Hon. John M. Dean, representing the 100th legislative dis¬ 
trict, Van Zandt County, was born at the town of Anderson, S. C., 
November 17, 1860. He represented the same district in the 
Twenty-sixth Legislature. He is a teacher and farmer; Democrat; 
Mason; Baptist. He serves on committees: Education, Private 
Land Claims, Contingent Expenses, and Military Affairs. 


202 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


HON. JAMES B. DOYLE. 

Slidell 

The Hon. James B. Doyle represents the 13th flotorial legislative 
district, composed of the counties of Wise, Cook, and Denton. He 
was born in Lee County, Virginia, May 17, 1849, and was there 
married to Miss Lou J. Fletcher, March 20, 1867. They have 
reared in Texas an interesting family of children. Mr. Doyle is a 
farmer and stock raiser; Democrat; Baptist; Knight of Honor. 
He serves on committees: Eevenue and Taxation, State Affairs, 
Commerce and Manufactures, Private Land Claims, and Counties 
and County Boundaries. 


HON. HENEY E. ELLIS. 

Groesbeck. 

The 64th legislative district, composed of the counties of Lime¬ 
stone, Eobertson, Leon, and Madison, is represented by the Hon. 
Henry E. Ellis. Mr. Ellis is a native of Alabama, born in Marengo 
County, August 15, 1870. He was a member of the Twenty-sixth 
Legislature. He is a lawyer; a Democrat; a Knight of Pythias, 
and a Woodman of the World. He is chairman of Committee on 
Counties and County Boundaries, and serves on other committees. 


HON. WILLIAM E. EVANS. 

WiNDOM. 

The Hon. William E. Evans is one of the representatives from 
the 7th legislative district—Fannin County. He was born in 
Casey County, Kentucky, May 15, 1855. He was a member of the 
Twenty-sixth Legislature. He is a farmer; Democrat; member of 
the M. E. church, and is married. He serves on committees: 
Public Health and Vital Statistics, County Government and 
County Finances, Public Buildings and Grounds, and Agricultural 
Affairs. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


203 


HOX. C. C. GLE^^N. 

Sealy. 

The 42d district, Austin County, is represented by the Hon. 
C. C. Glenn, who is a native of that county, horn near Bellville, 
May 8, 1862. He is a teacher; Democrat; member of the M. E. 
church, K. of H., W. 0. W., and is married. He serves on com¬ 
mittees: Public Buildings and Grounds, Education, Agricultural 
Affairs, Insurance, Statistics and History, and Mining and Min¬ 
erals. 


HON. J. N. GPISHAM. 

McKinney. 

Collin County composes the 14th legislative district, and has for 
one of its two representatives the Hon. J. N. Grisham of McKin¬ 
ney. Mr. Grisham is a native of Texas, and is about 31 years of 
age. He is a lawyer, and is a Democrat. He serves on the follow¬ 
ing committees: Constitutional Amendments, State Affairs, Privi¬ 
leges and Elections, Public Buildings and Grounds, and Towns 
and City Corporations. 


HON. ELAM HENDERSON. 

Athens. 

The Hon. Elam Henderson represents the 59th legislative dis¬ 
trict—Henderson and Navarro counties. He is a teacher and a 
farmer; Democrat; member of the M. E. church, and is unmarried. 
He serves on following committees: Education, Roads, Bridges 
and Ferries, Military Affairs, Claims and Accounts, and Counties 
and County Boundaries. 


HON. TRAVIS HENDERSON. 
Paris. 


The Hon. Travis Henderson is one of the two representatives 
from Lamar County, the 6th legislative district. He was born in 


204 


i3IOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES 


the state of Alabama, June 24, 1840. He also served in the 
Eighteenth, Nineteenth,^Twenty-tinrd. Twenty-fourth, and Twen¬ 
ty-sixth Legislatures. He is a farmer; Democrat; has a family. 
He serves on following committees: County Government and 
County Finances, Public Printing, Eoads, Bridges and Ferries, 
Examination of ComptrolleFs and Treasurers Accounts, Agricul¬ 
tural Affairs, Towns and City Corporations, and Eailroad Com¬ 
mission. 


HON. J. EOBEET HESLEP. 

Caldwell. 

Burleson, Washington, and Lee counties compose the 48th floto- 
rial district, represented by Hon. J. Eobert Heslep, who was born 
in Burleson Count}^, February 9, 1869. He is a lawyer; is a Demo¬ 
crat ; has a family. He serves on following committees: Judiciary 
No. 1, Judicial Districts, Mining and Minerals, and Public Debts. 


HON. M. T. LIVELY. 

Dallas. 

The Hon. M. T. Lively is one of the three representatives from 
Dallas County, which composes the 73d legislative district. He is 
a lawyer; is a native of Texas, and is about 30 years of age. Mr. 
Lively is a Democrat, and is a legislator of recognized ability. He 
serves on following committees: Judiciary No. 2, Eevenue and 
Taxation, Examination of Comptroller's and Treasurers Accounts, 
State Asylums, Judicial Districts, and Insurance, Statistics and 
History. 


HON. FEEDEEICK B. LOONEY. 

Oakwood. 

The Hon. Frederick B. Looney, physician and lawyer, was born 
in Cumberland Count}^, Kentucky, January 22, 1836. He repre¬ 
sents the 56th legislative district, composed of Leon and Madison 
counties. He was also a member of the Twenty-sixth Legislature. 
Dr. Looney has a family; he is a prominent Mason. He serves on 
committees as follows: Judiciary No. 2, State Affairs, Publiq 


TEXAS OFEIGIALS. 


205 


Health and Vital Statistics, and Penitentiaries. He was also a 
member of the special committee appointed to visit penitentiaries. 


HOjST. OSCAR P. McANALT.Y. 

Cameron. 


Milam County, the 62d legislative district, is represented by the 
Hon. Oscar P. McAnally, born in Milam County, January 27, 1858. 
Though born in Texas, he was reared and educated in Tennessee. 
He has pursued the various avocations of farming, teaching, and 
editing, and is at present publishing a newspaper at Cameron, 
Texas. He was a member of the Twenty-sixth Legislature; is a 
Democrat; member of the Christian church; is a Knight of Honor 
and an Odd Fellow. He is married. He serves on committees as 
follows: Finance, State Affairs, State Asylums, Constitutional 
Amendments, Contingent Expenses, and Public Printing. 


HOK. ALFRED W. MORRIS. 

]\IOXTGOMERY. 

The Hon. A. W. Morris, who represents the 38th district, com¬ 
posed of the counties of Montgomery, Walker, and Trinity, was also 
a member of the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Legislatures. He 
was born in Kewton County, Texas, January 10, 1846. He has 
pursued various lines of business, embracing merchandising, farm¬ 
ing, and milling; is a Democrat; is married; is chairman of Com¬ 
mittee on Examination of Comptrollers and Treasurers Accounts, 
and serves on committees: Finance, Claims and Accounts, and 
Penitentiaries. 


HOX. DAVID W. PHILLIPS. 


Lampasas. 


The 53d legislative district, Lampasas and Burnet counties, is 
represented by the Hon. David W. Phillips, a native of North 
Carolina, born at Lcwisburg, February 28, 1850. He was also a 
member of the Twenty-sixth Legislature. He is engaged in the 
real estate and insurance business; is a Democrat; has a family; 
is a Knight of Honor, a Knight of Pythias, and a Woodman of 


206 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


the World. He serves on following committees: Chairman of 
Insurance, Statistics and History, and member of committees on 
Stock and Stock liaising, and Penitentiaries. 


HON. E. TOM PORTER. 

Hix. 

The Hon. E. T. Porter, born in Burleson County, Texas, March 
12, 1869, represents the 49th legislative district, composed of 
Burleson and Lee counties. He is a farmer and stock raiser; a 
Democrat; is unmarried. He serves on committees as follows: 
Education, Commerce and Manufactures, Privileges and Elections, 
Public Buildings and Grounds, and Military Affairs. 


HON. GEORGE W. BROWN. 

Eddy. 

The Hon. George W. Brown, 61st legislative district. Falls 
County, is a native of Tishomingo County, Mississippi, born Janu¬ 
ary 11, 1851; teacher; Democrat; is married; is a member of the 
Baptist church. He serves on committees: Education, Examina¬ 
tion of Comptroller’s and Treasurer’s Accounts, Agricultural Af¬ 
fairs, State Asylums, and Labor. 


HON. LYNN B. ROACH. 

Mount Pleasant. 

Morris, Red River, and Titus counties compose the 5th flotorial 
district, represented by the Hon. Lynn B. Roach, a native of Ten¬ 
nessee, born in Weekly County, August 16, 1860. He is a farmer 
and stock raiser; Democrat; has a family, and is a member of the 
Baptist church. He serves on committees as follows: Health and 
Vital Statistics, Privileges and Elections, Public Buildings and 
Grounds, Federal Relations, and County Government and County 
Finances. 


TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


207 


HON. LEE SATTERWHITE. 

Wortham. 

The 57th legislative district^ Freestone County, is represented by 
the Hon. Lee Satterwhite, a native of Arkansas, born near Nevada, 
January 28, 1871. He is engaged in newspaper work; owns and 
edits the Wortham Journal; is a Democrat; has a family; is a 
member of the Baptist church, a Knight of Honor, a Knight of 
Pythias, and belongs to the Fraternal Union of America. He 
serves on following committees: Judiciary No. 2, Revenue and 
Taxation, Claims and Accounts, Examination of Comptrollers and 
Treasurers Accounts, Engrossed Bills, and Agricultural Affairs. 

HON. AUBREY T. STELL. 

Cooper. 

Delta County, the 19th district, is represented by the Hon. A. T. 
Stell,.who was born at Cooper, Texas, December 11, 1876; lawyer; 
Democrat; is unmarried; is a member of the Fraternal Mystic Cir¬ 
cle. He serves on committees: Judiciary No. 2, Railroad Com¬ 
mission, Judicial Districts, and Towns and City Corporations. 

HON. JOHN R. SMITH. 

Farmersville. 

The Hon. John R. Smith, one of the representatives from Collin 
County, the 14th district, was born near Bluewing, N. C., January 
30, 1855. He was also a member of the Twenty-sixth Legislature. 
He is a farmer and stock raiser; is a stanch platform Democrat; 
is a member of the Baptist church; is a Royal Arch Mason; is 
married. He serves on following committees: Chairman of Com¬ 
mittee on Commerce and Manufactures, and is a memi)er of other 
important committees. 

HON. C. E. STEWART. 

Grapevine. 

The Hon. C. E. Stewart is one of the two members representing 
the 78th legislative district, composed of Tarrant County. He is 


208 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


a native of Texas and about 40 years of age. He is a farmer; a 
Democrat, and he was a prominent member of the house of the 
Twenty-sixth Legislature. In the present body he is chairman of 
the Committee on Revenue and Taxation, and serves as a member 
of committees: Finance, Asylums, and Railroad Commission. 


HON. JOHN WEBB STOLLENWERCK. 
Hillsboro. 

The 77th legislative district, composed of the counties of Hill, 
Bosque, Hamilton, and Somervell, is represented by the Hon. J. 
W. Stollenwerck, a native of Alabama, born at Selma, June 1, 
1870. He is a lawyer; Democrat; member of the M. E. church; 
Knight of Pythias; member of Federal Union of America; is mar¬ 
ried. He serves on committees: Judiciary No. 2, Education, 
Counties and County Boundaries, and Military Affairs. 


HON. JOSEPH S. STROTHER. 

Garland. 

The Hon. Joseph S. Strother is one of three representatives from 
Dallas County, which alone composes the 73d legislative district. 
He is a native of Alabama, born at Huntsville, August 22, 1836. 
He was for many years a teacher, but is now a farmer He is 
married, and has reared to maturity a famiiy of five children. He 
is a member of the M. E. church, and is a Knight of Honor. He 
serves on committees: State Affairs, Education, Public Health 
and Vital Statistics, and Roads, Bridges and Ferries. 


HON. JOSHUA F. A. THARP. 

Turnersville. 

Coryell County, the 67th district, is represented by the Hon. 
J. F. A. Tharp, who was born near Franklin, Ga., May 17, 1869. 
He is a teacher and farmer; is a Democrat; is married, and is a 
member of the M. E. church. He serves on committees as fol¬ 
lows : Roads, Bridges and Ferries, Public Lands and Land Office, 
Agricultural Affairs, and Irrigation. 



TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


209 


HON. GEOKGE M. THUHMONl). 

VlCTOKlA. 

The counties of Victoria, Bee, Calhoun, Jackson, and Refugio 
compose the 83d legislative district, which is represented by the 
Hon. G. M. Thurmond. He was l?orn at Victoria, Texas, Decem¬ 
ber 14, 1873. He is a lawyer; is a Democrat; was married Feb¬ 
ruary 24, 1897, to Miss Mary Agnes Mitchell of Victoria, who 
died August 2, 1900, leaving two children, George and Mary. He 
serves on following committees: Judiciary No. 2, Internal Im¬ 
provements, Public Health and* Vital Statistics, and Public Print¬ 
ing. 


HON. JAMES W. TINKLER. 

Rock Island. 

Colorado County, the 43d legislative district, is represented by 
the Hon. J. W. Tinkler, a native of that county, born February 6, 
1846. He is a merchant; a Democrat; has a family, and is a mem¬ 
ber of the Masonic fraternity. He serves on committees: Agri¬ 
cultural Affairs, Public Debt, Claims and Accounts, and Peniten¬ 
tiaries. 


HON. A. W. WALKER. 
Denison. 


One of the three representatives from Grayson County, the 8th 
district, is the Hon. A. W. Walker, a native of Alabama, born in 
Tallapoosa County, June 10, 1867. He is a lawyer; a Democrat; 
IS married; is an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias. He serves 
on following committees: Judiciary No. 2, Judicial Districts, In¬ 
surance, Statistics, and History, and others. 

HON. RICHARD H. WELLS. 

Clarksville. 

The 4th district. Red River County, is represented by the Hon. 
Richard H. Wells, a native of Sumner County, Tennessee, born 

14—Gov’t. 


210 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 


June 10, 1857. He is a lawyer; Democrat; Mason; is married, 
and is a member of the Christian .church. He serves on following 
committees: Judiciary No. 2, Education, Stock and Stock Rais¬ 
ing, Counties and County Boundaries, and Railroad Commission. 


HON. JOHN WILLACY. 

Portland. 

The Hon. John Willacy represents the 17th legislative district. 
He is a native of Kentucky; is about 40 years of age, and has been 
a citizen of Texas about eleven years. He is a Democrat, and 
represented the 17th district in the house of the Twenty-sixth 
Legislature. He is a truck farmer by occupation and operates ex¬ 
tensively both as producer and shipper. His district is composed 
of the counties of Patricio, Aransas, Duval, and Nueces. He is 
chairman of the Committee on Internal Improvements, and serves 
on committees: Finance, Judicial Districts, and Stock and Stock 
Raising. 


HON. C. H. WILLINGHAM. 

Ballinger 

The counties of Crockett, Sutton, Menard, Schleicher, Kimble, 
Runnels, Cooke, Sterling, Tom Green, Irion, and Edwards com¬ 
pose the 95th legislative district, represented by the Hon. C. H. 
Willingham of Ballinger. Judge Willingham is a native of Texas, 
and is about 43 years of age. He is a lawyer of ability, and for 
many years served his county in the official capacity of county 
' judge. He is a Democrat. He serves on following committees: 
Revenue and Taxation, Public Lands and Land Office, Agricultural 
Affairs, and Stock and Stock Raising. 


HON. R. R. WILLIAMS. 

CUMBY. 

The 98th legislative district, Hawkins County, is represented by 
the Hon. R. R. Williams. Mr. Williams is a native of Tennessee; 
is about 61 5 ^ears old, and has been a citizen of Texas about thirty- 




TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


211 


eight years. He is a lawyer and farmer, and is a Democrat. He 
serves on following committees: State Affairs, County Govern¬ 
ment and County Finances, and Stock and Stock Raising. 


HON. T. P. WELLS. 


Bells. 


The 8th district, Grayson Couniy, has three representatives, one 
of whom is the Hon. T. P. Wells, born in McMinn County, Ten¬ 
nessee, February 17, 1873; lawyer; Democrat; was a member of 
Twent 3 ^-sixth Legislature; is unmarried, and is a member of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian church. He serves on committees: 
State Asylums, Agricultural Affairs, Public Printing, Towns and 
City Corporations, and Claims and Accounts. 


HON. WILLIAM C. ROCHELLE. 

Park. 

The Hon. William C. Rochelle represents the 1st legislative; 
district, composed of Bowie County, as the successor of the Hon. 
W. W. Dillard, who resigned his seat before the close of the 
regular session. Mr. Rochelle was born in Bowie County, Novem¬ 
ber 15, 1*873. He was a member of the house of the Twenty-sixth' 
Legislature. He is a Democrat; is a teacher and a farmer; is a 
member of the Presbyterian church, and is unmarried. He serves 
on committees: Constitutional Amendments, Privileges and 
Elections, Federal Relations, and Examination of Comptrollers 
and Treasurers Accounts. 


212 


BIOGllAPlllCAL SKETCHES 


HON. W. W. EIDLING. 


Bonham. 


The Hon. W. W. Eidling, representing the 7th legislative dis¬ 
trict, composed of Fannin County, died at Austin, Texas, January 
19, 1901, in respect to whose memory the following resolution was 
offered by his colleague, Hon. W. E. Evans of Windom: 

“House Concurrent Eesolution No. 5: 

“Whereas, The grim angel of death has removed from our midst 
Hon. Web Eidling, a faithful servant of his people, a distinguished 
citizen of Texas and an honorable and beloved representative of 
his people; therefore, be it 

“Eesolved by the house of representatives, the senate con¬ 
curring, that in the death of Hon. Web Eidling a worthy and noble 
citizen has gone, the house has lost an able member and Texas one 
of her patriotic sons. 

“Eesolved, That we extend to the bereaved relatives our heartfelt 
sympathy in this their hour of grief. 

“Eesolved further, that a committee consisting of nine members, 
three from the senate and six from the house, be appointed to take 
charge of the body and accompany it to the place of final inter¬ 
ment. 

“[Signed—Evans, Mulkey, Stell, Wells of Grayson, Kennedy of 
Limestone, Boyd, Hemphill, ]\lclnnis, Calvin, Stollenwerck, 
Smith.'’] 

The resolution was read a second time, and Mr. Smith moved 
that it be adopted by a rising vote. 

The motion prevailed, and the resolution was adopted unani¬ 
mously. 

Austin, January 18, 1901. 




STATE REPRESENTATIVES, 1901. 


1. 1\. E. Prince, Speakei' 


33. AYm. Pierson 

2. W. A. Sliaw 


34. AA'. AI. Robertson 

8. Lee Beaty 


35. -T. X. Grisham 

4. J. S. Conwav 


30. S. R. Crawford 

5, Gayle Talbot 


37. A. D. Hamilton 

(). J. D. Boyle 


38. John AA'illaey 

7. C. B. Calian 


39. Elam Henderson 

8. J. L. Litt’e 


40. E. L. Perry 

1). A. W. Morris 


41. J. AY. Hurt 

10. T. A. Rodriguez 


42. L. S. Schluter 

11. W. A. McClellan 


43. C. H. AATllingham 

12. AY. 0. Murray 


44. AY. H. Alarsh 

13. Phil H. Clements 


45. J. F. A. Tharp 

14. J. L. Fountain 


40. S. A. AIcAIeans 

13. AA*. F. Robertson 


47. A. S. Hawkins 

l(i. J. L. Plarbinson 


48. AA’. J. Bryan 

17. Ben Palmer 


49. Jas. Greenwood 

18. G. AA’. BroAvn 


50. J. AL Dean 

19. J. M. Green 


51. AA’. T. Shannon 

20. H. R. Mclnnis 


52. J. C. Houts 

21. IL AA*. Gray 

n 

; 53. C. C. Glenn 

22. H*. S. IMoran 


54. A. T. Cole 

23. J. AA'. Tinkler 


55. J. 0. Nicholson 

24. J. AA'. Stallenwerck 


50. AA’. J. Russell 

25 0. C. Searcy 


57. Ferg. Kyle 

20 Af. T. Lively 


58. AA’. A’an Sickle 

27. G. AA'. AIcKnight 


59. R. A. Greer 

28. G. AI. Thurmond 


00. J. X. Garner 

29. J. B. Hemphill 


01. Pat AI. Xeff 

30. AAA n. Fears 


02. F. AA’. Seabury 

31. C. E. Stewart 


03. AA’. J. BuTock 

32. E. T. Aloore 


04. A. T. Stell 


C 

5 P. AL Cuny 
















IlOUGE. 

(Second Sheet.) 



















STATE EEPEESENTATIVES, 1901 



(U). W. C. Rochelle 

97. 

Lee Satterwhite 

(57. Jiio. Cunninghani 

98. 

W. P. Tarpey 

(58. 0, F. McAnally 

99. 

G. B. Griggs 

(59. L. B. Roach 

100. 

S. H. Goodlet 

70. Jno. Kennedy 

101. 

W. R. Evans 

71. W. M. Blalock 

102. 

A. E. Calvin 

72. J. B. Perkins 

103. 

Xestor Alorrow 

73. H. AI. Xo^Y]in 

104. 

Aliax Aleitzen 

74. A. A. Aldrich 

105. 

E. B. Pickett, Jr 

75. T. C. Poole 

106. 

fl. C. Alurrell 

76. J. AI. Ackerman 

107. 

J. R. Heslep 

77. TVavis Henderson 

108. 

J. S. Jones 

78. G. B. Terrell 

109. 

A. X. Aloursund 

79. H. B. Terrell 

no. 

D. A. AIcFall 

80. J. L. Goodman 

■| 111. 

B. F. Dean 

81. 8. W. Parrish 

112. 

L. W. Allred 

82. Tom Connally 

113. 

Hampson Gary 

83. F. B. Tvooney 

114. 

B. A. Rag’and 

84. B. A. Ca’houn 

115. 

T. H. Xapier 

85. T. F. Aleece 

■ . 116. 

A. W. Walker 

86. R. R. AVilliams 

117. 

T P. Wells 

87. W. D. Adair 

118. 

S. R. Boyd 

88. 13. E. Decker 

119. 

J. Y. Hogsett 

89. H. E. Ellis 

120. 

0. C. Alulkey 

90. E. T. Porter 

121. 

S. J. Hendricks 

91. W. W. Bridges 

122. 

T. H. Xolan 

92. R. H. W.ls 

123. 

J. S. Strother 

93. R. D. Alugg 

124. 

A. Al. Kennedy 

94. C. E Dane 

125. 

13. W. Phillips 

95. J. R. Smith 

126. 

F. F. Hill 

96. J. T. Rowland 

127. 

W. A. Craddock 


128. Coiirtney Gray 








TEXAS OFFICIALS. 


213 


RON. A. T. GAY. 


Graham. 


The Hon. A. T. Gay, representing the 104th legislative district, 
composed of the counties of Archer, Throckmorton, Stephens, 
Knox, Baylor, and Young, died at Austin, Texas, February 28, 
1901. The following resolution of respect was ottered by Mr. 
Bullock of Iowa Park: 

‘‘House Concurrent Kesolution No. 17: 

^YVhereas, The Hon. A. T. Gay, an honorable and able repre¬ 
sentative, and a faithful servant of his people, has been removed 
from our midst to that dand from whose bourne no traveler e'er 
returns;^ and 

‘^YYhereas, His manly conduct and brotherly esteem during our 
brief association with him has so endeared him to us that we deeply 
regret his death; therefore, be it 

‘^‘Eesolved by the house of representatives, the senate concurring, 
that in the death of Hon. A. T. Gay a worthy citizen has gone, 
the house has lost an able member and Texas one of her patriotic 
sons. 

^‘^Resolved, That we extend to the ])ereaved wife and family our 
heartfelt sympathy in this, their hour of grief. 

‘fResolved further, that a committee consisting of five members, 
three from the house and two from the senate, l)e a])pointed to 
take charge of the body and convey it to its final resting place. 

[Signed—Bullock, Kennedy of Limestone, Decker, Houts, 
Hawkins, Bryan, Talbot, Gray of Eastland, Grisham, Stell.^^} 

The resolution was read a second time. 

Mr. Hawkins moved that the resolution be adopted hy a rising 
vote. 

The motion prevailed, and the resolution was unanimously 
adopted. 

Austin, February 28, 1901. 




MISCP]LLANEOUS. 


21 i 


OFFICERS OF TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE. 

SENATE. 

Hon. Phil. Barry Miller, president pro tern; J. P. Pool, secre¬ 
tary; W. B. O’Qiiinn, assistant secretary; M. L. Goodwin, journal 
clerk; M. G. Sanders, assistant journal clerk; Fount Kay, calendar 
clerk; J. L. Stephenson, enrolling clerk; Miss Mary He Zavala, 
assistant enrolling clerk; F. P. Smith, engrossing clerk; W. M. 
Cobb, assistant engrossing clerk; C. H. Allen, sergeant-at-arms; 
D. F. Hughes, assistant sergeanr-at-arms; John W. Dale, door¬ 
keeper; Lucien Goss, assistant doorkeeper; Kev. I. S. Davenport, 
chaplain; Mrs. Pauline Evans, postmistress; V. F. Pace, assistant 
postmaster. 


HOUSE. 

Hon. K. E. Prince, speaker; Lee J. Roundtree, chief clerk; Tip 
Jones, sergeant-at-arms; T. A. Hall, assistant sergeant-at-arms; 
Mark Logan, reading clerk; J. J. Henderson, assistant reading 
clerk; Marshall Burney, journal clerk; J. L. Robinson, assistant 
journal clerk; Bruce Thomas, calendar clerk; J. E. McFarland, 
engrossing clerk; S. P. Weisiger, enrolling clerk; J. R. Dunlap, 
doorkeeper; Milton Brown, assistant doorkeeper; Mrs. S. M. Frank¬ 
lin, postmistress; Mrs. J. A. Noble, assistant postmistress; J. W. 
Gatlin, chaplain. 


COMMITTEES ON REDISTRICTING UNDER THE 
TWELFTH CENSUS. 

SENATE. 

Harris of Bexar, chairman; Davidson of DeWitt, Wilson, 
Wheeler, Hanger, Dil)rell, Beaty, Harris of Hunt, Turney. 

HOUSE. 

Congressional Districts—Mr. Ellis, chairman; Messrs. Schluter, 
Wells of Red River, Evans, Harbison, Grisham, Lively, Napier, 
Robertson of Harrison, Heiiderson of Henderson, Cole, Connally, 
Aldrich, Gretr, Adair, Griggs, McKnight, Lane, Jones, McFail, 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


^15 

Kyle, Murray, Nicholson, Little, Garner, Willingham, Craddock, 
Bryan, Decker, Stewart, Talbot. 

Senatorial Districts—Mr. Moran, chairman; Messrs. Hurt, Wil¬ 
liams, Henderson of Lamar, Wells of Grayson, Pierson, Strother, 
Dean, Hendricks, Morrow, Stollenwerk, Me Anally, Satterwhite, 
McALeans, Hamilton, Ackerman, Glenn, Perry, Searcy, Goodlett, 
Hobertson of Williamson, Greenwood, Green, Palmer, Phillips, 
Hawkins, Houts, Lowland. 

Pepresentative Districts—Mr. Morrow^, chairman; Messrs. Hurt, 
Roach, Calvin, Walker, Mulkey, Goodman, Marsh, Blalock, Fears, 
Terrell of McLennan, Fountain, Terrell of Cherokee, Pickett, Mor¬ 
ris, Cuny, Tarpey, Tinkler, Porter, Moore, Beaty, Thurmond, Rus¬ 
sell, Nowlin, Meinnis, McClellan, Tharp, Gray of Eastland, Bul¬ 
lock, Mugg, Doyle. 


STATE OFFICIALS OF TEXAS. 


Joseph D. Sayers .Governor 

James N. Browning.JJeutenaiit-Governor 

Jolin G. Tod.Secretary of State 

B. M. Love. Comptroller 

John W. Robbins.Treasurer 

Charles Rogan .Land Commissioner 

C. Iv. Bell .Attorney-General 

Arthur Lefevre.Superintendent of Public Instruction 

Thomas Scurry .Adjuiaut-General 

Jefferson Johnson.Commissioner of Insurance, Statistics and History 

John 11. Reagan.i 

Allison Alaylield . ^Railroad Commission 

L. J. Storey .> 

Sam Harlan .Superintendent Public Buildings and Grounds 

N. A. Cravens .Governor's Private Secretary 

Hmory S. Hughes..’.State Expert Printer 

Jo. Lee Jameson.Revenue Agent 

C. P. Dodge.State Purchasing Agent 

1. P. Kibbe .Eish and Oyster Commissioner, A’ictoria 

Al. Al. Hankins, Chairman, Quanah. ) 


W, J. Aloore, San Antonio.) 

W. F. Blunt, AI. 1)..State Health Officer, Austin 

[. J. Jones, AI. D.Secretary, Austin 


(,)LARANTINE OFFICERS. 


J. C. AI ay field, AI. D.. . . 

A. L. Tackaberry, AI. 1). 

B. H. Carlton, AI. 1). . . . 

W. E. Pugh, AI. I). 

Chas. F. Norton, AI I).. 
T. J. AlcFarland, AI. D. . 


.Galveston 

.Sabine Pass 

.Velasco (P. O Quintana) 

. .Aransas Pass (P. O. Rockport) 

..El Ikiso 

Pass Cavallo (P. 0. Port Lavaca) 

































216 


miscf:llaneous. 


A. S. Wolir, M. J).Brownsville 

J. M. McKnight, M. D.Laredo 

iMalone Duggan, M. 1).Eagle Pass 


EDUCA riONAL. 


University of Texas, xVustin.W. L. Prather, President 

Agricultural and JMechanical College, Jirvan.L. L. Poster, President 

Sam Houston Normal Institute, Huntsville.H. C. Pritchett, Princii)al 

Prairie View Normal School, Prairie \Tew.E. L. Blackshear, Principal 

STATE PENAL INSTITUTIONS. 

.1 S, Kice.Superintendent, Huntsville 

W. Al. C. Hill.Financial Agent, Huntsville 

iVnitentiary at Huntsville.J. (C Smither, Assistant Supt. in charge 

I’enitentiary at Rusk.W. M. Lacy, Assistant Supt. in charge 

House of Correction and Reformatory, Oatesville. 

.L. J. Tankerslej", Assistant Su]>t. in charge 


STATE ELEEIVK)SYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

State Lunatic Asylum, Austin.,.B. AI. ^Vol■sham, Supt. 

Southwestern Insane Asylum, San Antonio.Al. L. Graves, Supt 

North Texas Hospital for Insane, Terrell.John S. 'Jhirner, Supt. 

Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, Austin.B. F. AIcNulty, Supt. 

Asylum for the Blind, Austin.H. L. Piner, Supt. 

Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Colored Youths, Austin. 

.S. J. Jenkins, Supt. 

Confederate Home, Austin.R. Y. King, Supt. 

State Orphans’ Home, Corsicana.T. H. Bowman, Supt. 


REPRESENTATIVES UNITED STATES CONGRESS. 


Chas. A. Culberson (term expires Alarch 4, 1905).Senator 

Joseph \Y. Bailey (term expires Alarch 4, 1907).Senator 

Congressmen Elected November 0, 1900 

Hon. T. H. Ball, Huntsville.First District 

Hon. S. B. Cooper, Beaumont.Second District 

Hon. R. C. DeGralfenreid, Longview.Third District 

Hon. fJ. L. Sheppard, Pittsburg.Fourth District 

Hon. C. B. Randall, Sherman. Fifth District 

Hon. Dudley G. Wooten, Dallas.Sixth District 

Hon. R. L. Henry, Waco.Seventh District 

Hon. S. W. T. Lanham, Weatherford.Eighth District 

Hon. A. S. Burleson, Austin.Ninth District 

Hon. George F. Burgess, Gonzales.Tenth District' 

Hon, Rudolph Kleberg, Cuero.Eleventh District 

Hon. James L. Slayden, San Antonio.Twelfth District 

Hon. John H, Stephen.s, Yernon.Thirteenth District 


SUPREAIE COURT. 


Reuben R. Gaines 
Thos. J. Brown. . . 


AUSTIN. 


. .. .Chief Justice 
Associate Justice 





































MISCELLANEOUS. 


217 


F. A. Williams. , 
Chas. S. Alorse. 
A. E, Wilkinson 


Associate Justice 

.Clerk 

.Reporter 


COURT OF CRi:\IlNAL APPEALS. 

W. L. Davidson, Presiding Judge; M. M. Brooks, Judge; John N. Hender¬ 
son, Judge; J. P. White (Austin), Reporter. 

Dallas Term—January, February, and jMareh. J. M. Gaston, Clerk. 

Austin Term—April, ^lay, and June. E. P. Smith, Clerk. 

Tyler Term—October, November, and December. E. B. Wiggins, Clerk. 

COURTS OF CIVIL APPEALS. 

First District, Galveston—C. C. Garrett, Chief Justice; W. H. Gill, Asso¬ 
ciate Justice; R. A. Pleasants, Associate Justice; Henry M. Knight, Clerk. 

Second District, Fort Worth—T. H. Conner, Chief Justice; Sam J. Hunter, 
Associate Justice; I. W. Stephens, Associate Justice; W, C. Strong, Clerk. 

Third District, Austin—H. C. Fisher, Chief Justice; W. M. Key, Associate 
Justice; W. E. Collard, Associate Justice; R. H. Connerly, Clerk. 

Fourth District, San Antonio—J. H. James, Chief Justice; W. S. Fly, 
Associate Justice; H. H. Neill, Associate Justice; H. E. Hildebrand, Clerk. 

Fifth District, Dallas—Anson Rainey, Chief Justice; John Bookhout, 
Associate Justice; Howard Templeton, Associate Justice; Geo. W. Blair, 
Clerk. 

Terms of Each Court—From first Monday in October to first ^Monday in 
duly. 

In Second and Fifth District court sits on Friday of each week for the 
submission of motions, and on Saturday of each week for delivery of 
opinions and receiving submission of cases. (Blair, Clerk.) 

In Third District, court sits on Wednesday. 

UNITED STATES CIRCUIT AND DISTRICT COURTS. 

Western District of Texas. 


T S. ^taxey.District Judge, Austin 

Henry Terrell.United States Attorney, San Antonio 

Geo. L. Siebrecht.Lbiited States Marshal, San Antonio 

D. H. Hart.Clerk United States Circuit and District Courts, Austin 


Austin—First Mondays in February and July. 

San Antonio—First Mondays in May and November, 

El Paso—First Mondays in April and October. 

Brownsville—First Monday in January and second Monday in June. 
Laredo—First iMonday in December and third Monday in March. 

Eastern District of Texas. 

David E. Bryant.Judge, Sherman 

M. C. McLemore.United States Attorney, Galveston 

-John Grant.United States Marshal, Paris 

t.’hristopher Dart....Clerk, Galveston 

John B. Dailey.United States District Clerk, Paris 

Tyler—First Mondays in January and September. 

-Tefferson—Fourth Mondays in January and September. 

Paris—First Monday in April and third Monday in November. 
Beaumont—First Mondays in June and December. 

Galveston—Third Mondays in February and October. 














218 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


XoBTHERN District oi" Texas. 


E. R. Meek.District Judge, Fort Worth 

W. H. Atwell.United States Attorney 

Ceo. H. Green.United States Marshal, Dallas. 

J. H. Finks.Clerk United States Circuit and District Courts, Waco 


Waco—Fourth Monday in April and second Monday in October. 

Dallas—Third Monday in January and fourth Monday in May. 

Fort Worth—First Monday in March and fourth Monday in November. 
Abilene—First Monday in April and fourth ^Monday in iSeptember. 

San Angelo—Third Monday in April and third ^Monday in November. 


UNITED STATES CIRCUIT JUDGES. 


Don A. Pardee.New Orleans 

Andrew P. McCormick.Dallas 

David D. Shelby.Huntsville, Ala. 


CHIEF EXECUTIVES OF TEXAS FROM 1691 
TO 1903—212 YEARS. 

Spanish— 1691 to 1822—131 Years. —Domingo Teran, Don 
Casparado de Anaya^ Don Martin de Alarcon, Marquis de Aguayo, 
Fernando de Almazan, Melchoir de Madiavilla, Juan Antonio 
Bustillos, Manuel de Sandoval, (Mrlos de Franquis, Prudencia 
Basterra, Justo Boneo, Jacinto de Barrios, Antonio de Martos, Juan 
Maria, Baron de Piperda, Domingo Cabella, Eafael Pacheco, Man¬ 
uel Munoz, Juan Bautista el Guazabel, Antonio Cordero, Manuel 
de Salcedo, Christoval Dominguez, and Antonio Martinez. 

Mexican— 1822 to 1835—13 Years. —Trespalacios, 1822; Don 
Luciana le Garcia, 1823; Rafel Gonzales (Coahuila and Texas), 
1825; A^ictor Blanco, 1826; Jose Maria Anesca, 1828; Jose Alaria 
Letona, 1831, and Francisco ATdauri, 1834. 

Texan— 1835 to 1846—11 Y'ears. —Henry Smith,, Provisional 
Governor, 1835 to 1836; David G. Burnet, President ad interim, 
1836; Sam Houston, Constitutional President, 1836; Alirabeau 
B. Lamar, President, 1838; Sam Houston, President, 1841; Anson 
Jones, President, 1844-6. 

Governors of the State Since Annexation, 1846 to 1901— 
55 A'ears.— J. Pinckney Henderson, 1846; George T. ^Yood, 1847; 
P. B. Bell, 1849 to 1851, and 185) to 1853 ; E. AI. Pease, 1853 to 
1855, and 1855 to 1857; Hardin R. Runnels, 1857 to 1859 ; Sam 
Houston, 1859 to 1861; Edward Clark, 1861; F. R. Lubbock, 1861 
to 1863; Pendleton Alurrah, 1863 to 1865; A. J. Hamilton (Pro¬ 
visional), 1865 to 1866; James AV. Throckmorton, 1866 to 1867; 











MISCELLANEOUS. 


219 


E. M. Pease (Provisional), 1867 to 1870; E. J. Davis, 1870 to 
1874; Pichard Coke, 1874 to 1876; K. B. Hubbard, 1876 to 1879; 
Oran M. Poberts, 1879 to 1881, and 1881 to 1883; John Ireland, 
1883 to 1887; L. S. Poss, 1887 to 1891; James S. Hogg, 1891 to 
1893, and 1893 to 1895; C. A. Culberson, 1895 to 1897, and 1897 
to 1899; Joseph D. Sayers, 1899 to 1901, and now serving second 
term, 1901 to 1903. 


GENERAL ELECTIONS IN TEXAS FROM 
1835 TO IDOL 

In the Constitution of Texas, November 11, 1835, Henry Smith 
was elected Provisional Governor and J. W. Robinson Provisional 
Lieutenant-Governor. The vote for Governor was; Henry Smith, 
31; Stephen F. Austin, 22. 

First General Election under the Republic in 1836. For 
President: Sam Houston, 3585; Stephen F. Austin, 551; Henry 
Smith, 144; T. J. Green, 42; scattering, 5; for Constitution of 
1836, 3199; against Constitution, 223. 

Second General Election, 1838. For President: ]\Iirabeau 
B. Lamar, 6995 ; Robert M. Wilson, 252, 

Third General Election, 1841. For President: Sam Hous¬ 
ton, 7915; David G. Burnet, 3616. 

Fourth General Election, 1844. For President: Anson 
Jones, 6443; Edward BurPson, 5054. 

First State Election, 1845. For Governor: J. P. Hender¬ 
son, 7853 ; J. B. Miller, 1673; scattering, 52. 

Second State Electjon, 1847. For Governor: George T. 
Wood, 7154; J. B. Miller, 5106; N. H. Darnell, 1276; J. J. Robin¬ 
son, 379; scattering, 852. 

Third State Election, 1849. For Governor: P. H. Bell, 
10,319; George T. Wood, 8764; John T. Mills, 2632; for amend¬ 
ment to Constitution, 15,852; against amendment to Constitu¬ 
tion, 3139. 

Fourth State Election, 1851. For Governor: P. H. Bell, 
13,595; M. T. Johnson, 5292; John A. Green, 4061; B. H. Epper¬ 
son, 2971; T. J. Chambers, 2320 ; scattering, 100. 

Fifth State Election, 1853. For Governor: E. M. Pease, 
13,091; W. B. Ochiltree, 9178; George T. Wood, 5903; L. D. 
Evans, 4677 ; T. J. Chambers, 2449; John Darcy, 315. 

Sixth State Election, 1855. For Governor: E. M. Pease, 



220 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


2(5,336; D. C. Dickson, 18,968; W. T. Johnson, 809; George T. 
Wood, 226. 

Seventh State Election, 1857. For Governor: H. 11. Run¬ 
nels, 32,552; Sam Houston, 28,678. 

Elghth State Election, 1859. For Governor: Sam Hous¬ 
ton, 36,227; H. R. Runnels, 27,500; scattering, 61. 

Hinth State Election, 1861. For Governor: F. R. Lubbock, 
21,854; Edward Clark, 21,730; T. J. Chambers, 13,759. 

Tenth State Election, 1863. For Governor: Pendleton 
Hurrah, 17,511; T. J. Chambers, 12,455; scattering, 1070. 

Eleventh State Election, 1866. For Governor: J. W. 
Throckmorton, 49,277; E. M. Pease, 12,168. 

Twelfth State Election, 1869. For Governor: E. J. Davis, 
39,901; A. J. Hamilton, 39,092; Hamilton Stuart, 380. 

Thieteenth State Election, 1873. For Governor: Richard 
Coke, 85,549; E. J. Davis, 42,633. 

Fourteenth State Election, 1876. For Governor: Richard 
Coke, 150,581; William Chambers, 47,719. 

Fifteenth State Election, 1878. For Governor: 0. M. Rob¬ 
erts, 15.8,933; W. H. Hamman, 55,002; A. B. Xorton, 23,402; 
scattering, 99. 

Sixteenth State Election, 1880. For Governor: 0. M. 
Roberts, 166,101; E. J. Davis, 64,382; W. Hamman, 33,721. 

Seventeenth State Election, 1882. For Governor: John 
Ireland, 150,891; George W. Jones, 102,501; J. B. Robertson, 334. 

Eighteenth State Election, 1884. For Governor: John 
Ireland, 212,234; George W. Jones, 88,450; A. B. Xorton, 25,557. 

Xineteenth State Election, 1886. For Governor: L. S. 
Ross, 228,776; A. H. Cochran, 65,236; E. L. Dohoney, 19,186; 
scattering, 102. 

Twentieth State Election, 1888. For Governor: L. S. 
Ross, 250,338 ; Marion Martin, 98,447. 

Twenty-first State Election, 1890. For Governor: James 
S. Hogg, 262,432; Web Flanagan, 77,742; E. C. Heath, 2235. 

Twenty-second State Election, 1892. For Governor: James 
S. Hogg, 190,486; George W. Clark, 133,395; T. L. Xugent, 108,- 
483; A. J. Houston, 1322; D. M. Prendergast, 1605; scattering, 
176. 

Twenty-third State Election, 1894. For Governor: C. A. 
Culberson, 216,373; W. K. Makemson, 57,147; J. B. Schmitz, 
5304; T. L. Xugent, 159,676; J. M. Dunn, 21,295; scattering, 
1076. 

Twenty-fourth State Election, 1896. For Governor: C. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 


221 


A. Culberson, 298,528; Jerome C. Kearby, 238,692; Eandolpk 
Clark, 1876; scattering, 682. 

Twenty-fifth State Election, 1898. For Governor: Joseph 
D. Sayers, 291,548; B. P. Bailey, 2437; Barnett Gibbs, 114,955; 
G. H. Royal, 552; scattering, 62. 

Twenty-sixth State Election, 1900. For Governor: Joseph 
D. Sayers, 303,586 ; R. E. Hannay, 112,864; T. J. McMinn, 26 - 
579; G. H. Royal, 155; scattering, 6155. 


222 


JltSCEl.l.AXICOUS. 


TABULAR GUIDE 

TO PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. 


Of 

Amending. 

May be amended: b, c. e, li, i, j, k, m, r, t, u, d*, e‘. 

Can not be amended: a, d, f, g’, 1, ip o, p, q, s, v, a', b', 

C-, f-, g-. 

Of 

Debate. 

Debatable questions: c, d, e, g, b, n, p, r, t, u, e'-. 
I'ndebatable questions; a, f, i, j, k, 1 , o, q, s, \v, x, y, z, ar. 

1 )-, c', d-, f-. 

Debate limited: m. 

Debate of another question tem])orarily suspencled: o, p, 
Does not allow reference to main question: a, b, c, d, e, f, 
kb lb b j. k, h nc lb o, q, s, t, u, v, x, y, z, a'-, b^ d^ 
ey f^ gC 

Oj)ens main question to debate: j), r. 

To 

Determine 
by Vote. 

Majority vote determines: a, b, c, d, f, g, li, j, 1, m, n, p. 
(], r, s, u, w, X, z, a-, Ir, d', e", f-. 

Two-third vote required do determine: e, i, k, o, t, v, y, 
c^ gC (Special rules excepted.) 

Of 

Order. 

Original motion to adjourn is always in order, but if it 
fail to carry, a second motion to adjourn is not in order 
till some business—roll call, for instance—intervenes. 
Not in order when another has the door: a, b, c, d, e, i, 
li> 1^5 iiij 1 I 5 1 I 5 I 3 t, u, V, AV, X, y, z, b*, e', f“. 

In order, though another has the lloor; f, g, 1 , a% c'-, gC 

Jn order to move for ejitry on record only, after which 
former pending jn’oeeedings will be resumed: p, q. 

On 

Reconsid¬ 

ering. 

1 

('an be reeonsidered: b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, k, 1, m, n, 0 , r, t, 
u, y, z, ay b'C c;. d^, e^ f-, gC 

Can not be reeonsidered: a, p, q, s, v. 

Previous advocate only eligible to move reconsideration, 
and motion must be made on same day the question was 
acted on. Negative vote to table or to take up from 
table only can be reconsidered; the aflirmative can not. 

On 

Seconding. 

Every motion must be seconded, except: 1, a-, c-, and g-; 
these require no second. 


a—Motion to adjourn. 

b —Motion to determine time of adjournment, 
c —Motion to amend, 
d —Motion to amend an amendment, 
e —Motion to amend rules. 

f Alotion of apj)Pal from speaker’s decision re indecorum. 































MISCELLANEOUS. 


223 


li — 


k — 
1 — 
Hi¬ 
ll - 

o - 
P ^ 

q- 
1 ’ - 

s - 
t - 
11 - 
V - 

w 
X - 

y - 

z - 
a" 
b-- 

C“ 
< 1 -- 
o" 
f- 

Ir 


iMotion of appeal from speaker’s decision generally. 
Motion to commit. 

Motion to debate (close of on question). 

Motion to debate (extend time of on question). 
Motion to debate (limit time of on question). 
Alotion for orders of day. 

—Motion to postpone to a definite time. 

—^lotion to postpone indefinitely. 

-Motion for previous question. 

-Motion to reconsider a debatable question, 

—iMotion to reconsider an undebatable (juestion. 
—Motion to refer. 

—Motion that rise (committee). 

—iMotion for sjiecial order of subject, 

—iMotion to substitute (in form of amendment). 

—Motion to susiiend rules. 

—Motion to table. 

—Motion to take up from table. 

—Motion to take up question out of order. 

—Motion to withdraw' a motion. 

—iMotion of call to order (rising- to point of). 
—iMotion for leave to resume s|K*eeh after indecorum. 
—iMotion of objection to consideration of a question. 
—iMotion of priority of business. 

—iMotion of privilege (question of). 

—iMotion of reading papers 

—iMotion of question of discussing subject. 

—Motion of precedence of questions. 


Every question or motion to be considered by a deliberative assembly 
has its jiarliamentary character, and according to its class, may be debatable 
or undebatable, may be amended or can not be amended, may be reconsid¬ 
ered or may not lie reconsidered, may require a second or- may not reipiire 
a second, may be in order or may not be in order, may be determined by a 
majority vote or not so determined. In the accompanying table each ques¬ 
tion is lettered, and has its corresponding class letter, a glance at which 
will determine its parliamentary position in this resjrect. Thus under the 
class “Debating,’' the letters c, d, e, g, h, n, p, r, t, u. and e* show which 
motions or questions are debatable. 

Motions rank as follows: 

First—Fixing limitation of adjournment. 

Second—To adjourn without limitation. 

Third—For the order of the day. 

Fourth—To table. 

Fifth—The previous question. 

Sixth-—To postpone definitely. 

Seventh—To commit. 

Eighth—To amend. 

Ninth—To postpone indefinitely. 

ATrhiage of questions from chair: 

To Strike Out.—“Shall the words stand as part of the motion?”' 

On Previous Question.—“Shall the main question be now put?” 

On Appeal from Chair.—“Shall the decision be sustained as the ruling of 
the house?” 

On Orders of the Day.—“Will the house now proceed to the orders of 
the day?” 

On Objection to Consideration.—“Shall the question be considered?” 





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